(Philstar.com photo)
A recent Social Weather Stations survey (SWS) on Wednesday, March 13, revealed that the number of adult Filipinos who use the internet rose to 47 percent last quarter, a six-point increase from 41 percent in September 2018.
Adult Filipinos aged 18 to 24 use the internet the most at 88 percent, followed by ages 25 to 34 at 69 percent. Ages 35 to 44 comprised 56 percent of the frequent internet users while ages 45 to 54 ranked fourth with 32 percent and lastly ages 55 and above comprised 17 percent.
“The proportion of Filipino adults using the Internet has been steadily increasing since SWS first asked about it in June 2006, when it was at 8 percent,” the polling firm said as reported by The Manila Times.
“It ranged from 11-19 percent from September 2007 to December 2011 and rose to 23-32 percent from March 2012 to December 2015. It ranged from 34-42 percent from April 2016 to September 2018, before it reached a record-high 47 percent in December 2018,” it added.
The 2019 report from the polling firm maintained that Metro Manila had the most number of internet users with 59 percent. However, there was a five percent decrease from the recorded 64 percent in the previous quarter.
The country’s metropolitan capital always had the record-high in terms of internet users since 2006. It was then followed by the Balance Luzon with 56 percent, a nine-point increase from the previous quarter’s 47 percent.
The Visayas, in the recent survey, had 35 percent of internet users. It rose by seven points from 28 percent in September, followed by Mindanao with a five-point increase at 32 percent from the previous 27 percent.
The survey stated that the internet use was “highest” among classes ABC at 61 percent, while usage for class D was at a new record high of 49 percent, and class E was at 34 percent.
It also recorded that women use the internet more with a five-point difference at 49 percent than men with only 44 percent.
The SWS survey also proved that Filipinos spend the most time on the internet and on social media sites, according to a 2019 report.
The poll, conducted from December 16 to 19, 2018 using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults nationwide, had sampling error margins of ±2.6 percent for national percentages, and ±5 percent each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
