Signal 92% of UK adults used the internet for digital services by 2020

Summary

According to the Office for National Statistics, 92% of UK adults were using the internet for digital services by 2020. The report treats this as one facet of digital platform growth arising from advances in IT, telecommunications and data processing. The trend has been led largely by the so-called Big 5 technology firms, which introduced and popularised AI models, search engines, social media, e-commerce and cloud computing. The report attributes the wide adoption of these services to falling prices, accessibility, quality and novelty, and it describes smartphones as having become the main device for going online. It also points out that 46% of people over 75 still do not use the internet, leaving a digital divide in place.