What is Ireland’s relationship with the internet?

16 Feb 2017

Image: George Rudy/Shutterstock

A study on how people in Ireland use the internet shows a reliance on search engines and nearly 1m rural Facebookers.

Ireland’s National Broadband Plan is trundling on in a timeline that promotes fears of inevitable failure, rather than unending hope.

Originating in a 2000 project to put IR£40bn into creating a world-leading broadband nation, 17 years later, many are sitting around wondering when the good news will become a reality.

Times have changed, and so too have plans, with the current €230m National Broadband Plan aiming to connect 1.8m Irish people, or just below 1m business and residential premises, on the wrong side of the digital divide with a minimum of 30Mbps down and 10Mbps up.

According to our very own John Kennedy, it’s the first broadband plan that has a chance of succeeding.

So, if it works and if 5G emerges before the end of the decade, how will the environment change? Better still, what is the current environment that it will ultimately alter?

Connector has created an infographic that looks at topics ranging from online user behaviour and social network adoption, to online shopping and connectivity points.

For example, the report suggests that internet penetration is currently at 80pc, with the number of internet users in Dublin soaring by 31.3pc on last year.

The majority of mobile devices are on iOS, with a 57pc market share significantly up on the global average, where Apple lags behind the more populous Android market leader.

Interestingly, the online purchasing drivers given by the report show free delivery as a key metric for 75pc of us. After this comes an easy returns policy (50pc), simple checkouts (44pc), incentives (45pc) and consumer reviews (42pc).

Reading consumer reviews is how 44pc of us research products, though the standard search engine (60pc) is the dominant player in this space.

Facebook (2.2m), Twitter (835,000) and Instagram (720,000) are our favourite social media tools.

“Every year, we combine the data from the most trusted sources about the Irish marketer so you can make smarter decisions,” said the makers. “We invite you to explore the digital behaviour of the audiences that matter.”