Unit 1 Assignment 2
- 1. The Internet's Impact on Modern Society Introduction In this day and age the internet serves as the backbone for all technological devices and systems across the globe. With the internet once being used only as a source for information it has now has evolved allowing everyday people to set up online businesses, pay bills, purchase items online, connect through social media sites and much more. The internet has revolutionized how our society operates making an impact on millions of people's lives everyday. Accessing the Internet The internet is used by people around the world for a variety of reason. These reasons are based of the following: Information Many individuals use the internet as a tool to gain new information. For example if someone was looking for information on a local concert this could be done through the use of sites such as Google or Bing etc. Communication The internet is widely used as a form of communication. The internet offers various sites such as Facebook were users can interact with one another.
- 2. Online Purchases People use the internet to purchase items directly from their devices. For example transactions can be made online for paid movie subscriptions or ordering items from sites online to be delivered. The increasing number of Internet users worldwide For most people the internet is a huge part of everyday life, not only this but the amount of daily users is increasing every year. As of present roughly 50% of the world has a connection to the internet. Below is a table that demonstrates the true growth in the number of internet users across the world. The statics measure the growth over a 10 year period. Year Internet Users Penetration (% of Population) World Population 2016 3,424,971,237 46.1% 7,432,663,275 2015 3,185,996,155 43.4% 7,349,472,099 2014 2,956,385,569 40.7% 7,265,785,946 2013 2,728,428,107 38% 7,181,715,139 2012 2,494,736,248 35.1% 7,097,500,453 2011 2,231,957,359 31.8% 7,013,427,052 2010 2,023,202,974 29.2% 6,929,725,043 2009 1,766,403,814 25.8% 6,846,479,521 2008 1,575,067,520 23.3% 6,763,732,879 2007 1,373,226,988 20.6% 6,681,607,320 2006 1,162,916,818 17.6% 6,600,220,247
- 3. Internet Speeds Around The World Over the years the internet has adapted its processing speed to match the demand. As of present people are able to purchase internet plans that can cater up to 1000+ Mbps (megabytes per second.) Despite the fast internet speeds we have now this was not always the case in the past. Today the average internet speed between all countries is 7.2 mbps. In 1993 with the first introduction of the World Wide Web the internet speed was only 56 kbps(kilobytes per second). Compared to the internet speed in 1993, the present speed is 1785614.29% faster! The table above represents a list of the countries with the fastest internet and mobile internet connections in the world.
- 4. Digital Devices Used By People Around the World The Top 4 Devices Used to Access the Internet Within the UK #1 Smartphone The smartphone is currently the most used device to access the internet within the UK. As of 2018 it is estimated that 48 percent of the total devices used to access the internet are smartphones. The percentage of smartphone users is on the rise each year. #2 Laptop Despite being in existence decades before smartphones, laptops are the UK’s second most used device to access the internet. As of 2018 it is estimated that 24 percent of the total devices used to access the internet are Laptops. This number is slowly rising each year.
- 5. #3 Tablet Computers Tablet Computers are currently the third most popular form of digital device used to access the internet within the UK. The current most popular branded Tablet used is the iPad by Apple. As of 2018 it is estimated that 15 percent of the total devices used to access the internet are Tablets. This number is slowly rising each year however it has heavy competition from smartphone users. #4 Desktop PC The Desktop PC is the fourth most commonly used device to access the internet within the UK. However in recent years the Desktop PC usage rate has been declining as portable devices have suited the needs of more people. As of 2018 it is estimated that 9 percent of the total devices used to access the internet are Desktop PC’s.
- 6. How Consumers Search for Information on the Internet When users browse the internet they use a search engine to do so. Currently Google is the world's leading search engine used by billions around the world. The search engine receives over 1.2 trillion searches per year while averaging over 5 billion searches per day! The market share of search engines (2018) The pie chart above shows the search engines that make up the market. Google has continued to expand its user numbers every year while its competitors Baidu, Yahoo! And Bing have been slowly losing users every year.
- 7. What Consumers Buy Online The internet allows user to have access to websites that sell products and services which can be purchased online. With the increasing growth of the number of users on the internet, online shopping is now more popular than ever. Every year online shopping is increasingly getting more and more popular among the users of the internet, thus competing highly against the retail markets. Why People Choose To Buy Online Convenience Shopping online is extremely convenient and can be done through any device that can connect to the internet. When people choose to shop online they are given the freedom to browse and purchase products on a 24/7 basIs, where as in retail stores you can only enter the stores during opening hours. Variety With shopping online comes more variety in products to choose from compared to a standard retail store. With the help of the internet you can find any product/service you are looking for. The internet helps you discover trending products and services even allowing your to discover trends internationally without having to even enter the country itself! Affordable Prices The prices on products online tend to be much cheaper as the products come directly from the manufactures and vendors without involving third parties or middlemen. Search engines such as Google or Bing offer the ability to access sites which compare product prices from the entire internet allowing customers to search and find the best deals thus saving money.
- 8. Product Categories With the Highest Online Sales Online Products and Services Purchased the Most in the UK (2018) The above bar chart represents the series of online products/services that were purchased the most during 2018 within the United Kingdom. The most popular products/services ranged from clothing and sporting goods, household goods, holiday accommodation and travel expenses. These correlations of the online consumer habits represent a high trend thus creating a substantial demand for these products throughout the United Kingdom in 2018. dftghyj
- 9. Online Video Consumption Over the years online video consumption has grown considerably making a huge impact on the users of the internet, having recently overtaken television consumption globally. Nowadays people are generally consuming much less information, entertainment and news from sources like radio stations, magazines, textbooks and newspapers etc. It is now much easier for people to discover the above information using online video services such as Youtube, Netflix and Facebook etc. Online video consumption is increasingly popular among the younger generation. Netflix Netflix is an online service which provides unlimited viewings of commercial free movies and television series for its monthly subscribers. The site can be accessed by any device which offers an internet connection. The site boasts over 140 million subscribers worldwide and is regarded as the most popular site to stream movies. Netflix offers a variety of factors that has made the site a important part of the daily lives of internet users. Variety Compared to cable television, Netflix offers a huge variety of movies and television series which many genres depending on the viewers mood. Most cable tv’s that offer television series only show an episode a day whereas on Netflix the site upolouds the entire television series so consumers do not need to wait weeks to watch a entire show. .
- 10. Consumer Trends With the constant growth of the amount of internet users over the past five years has come with the constant evolution of how how technology has impacted their everyday lives. Just five years ago consumers had much less control and communication over what they access within the internet, whereas now in the present consumers have the access to forever improving technology giving them more freedom and power to do so as they wish than ever before. The chart above is a clear example of how consumer trends have affected online sales worldwide. It shows a constant rise in the number of people using digital devices to purchases items online. Evolution of consumer interactions with online stores Over the past few years there has been the introduction of more advanced customer communication channels and methods among online stores. In the past most online stores only offered their customer service through dedicated phone lines or through emails. However at the time the chosen communication channels did not offer a fast service and relied on stores to only communicate during work hours etc. Fast forward to 2019 most online stores now use various social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. The use of social media platforms to interact with consumers has allowed online companies to capitalize of the the growing social media trend to provide live hats and fast
- 11. replies to consumer inquiries etc. Online companies that use social media sites such as Facebook allow their online stores to be readily accessible to millions of people across the internet at any given time. With the use of new communication methods, online customers needs are put first. The above picture is an example how a restaurant utilises facebook to communicate and provide customer support for its consumers. Summary For most people Technology is a huge part of everyday life, not only this but the amount of daily users is forever increasing. As the years have gone by more and more people use technology to gain access the internet and the opportunities it offers affecting billions of people worldwide. Thanks to the constant evolution of new technology and trends consumers of technology can communicate with each other over the internet and purchases items directly from their digital devices. The perks of modern day technology is that almost all digital devices can be used to access the internet. People are able to use search engines such as google on their devices to gain information which can be applied to work or for students etc. The introduction to online shopping has played a key impact to consumers of technological devices enabling people to use their devices to browse and purchase products while even being able to compare prices online to find the best prices. The online shopping market has a huge impact on millions
- 12. worldwide allowing people to buy what they need when they need on a 24/7 basis. Overall the advancement of technology that allows internet access has made a huge impact on how our modern day society operates. With the internet once being used only as a source for information it has now has evolved allowing everyday people to set up online businesses, pay bills, purchase items online, connect through social media sites and much more. The internet has revolutionized how our society operates making an impact on millions of people's lives everyday. Reference List -https://www.statista.com/statistics/204954/average-internet-connection-speed-worldwide/ -http://time.com/money/3896219/internet-users-worldwide/ -https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo -https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23738871.2016.1157619 -https://www.livescience.com/20727-internet-history.html -https://www.statista.com/topics/2333/e-commerce-in-the-united-kingdom/ -https://www.statista.com/statistics/273018/number-of-internet-users-worldwide/ -https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm -https://www.nielsen.com/nz/en/insights/news/2015/the-why-behindthe-online-buy.html -https://tubularinsights.com/2019-internet-video-traffic/ -https://www.statista.com/statistics/387447/consumer-electronic-devices-by-internet-access-in-t he-uk/ -https://ecommercenews.eu/87-of-uk-retail-purchases-made-online/ -https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/netflix-1202979619-1202979619/ -https://medium.com/analytics-for-humans/the-evolution-of-consumer-behavior-in-the-digital-age -917a93c15888