For the first time, more than half of the world population is online. In 2018, 51 percent or 3.8 billion people, were active online, up from 49 percent or 3.6 billion people in 2017, according to a report released last week.
At the 2019 Code Conference, analyst and investor Mary Meeker presented her annual Internet Trends Report, highlighting data and insights from the past year as well as what we can expect in the coming year.
Meeker has released her report for 24 years; it’s one of the most anticipated announcements for everyone involved with the Internet.
In the past, I watched her presentation on the livestream. But this year I spent my time wading through her 333-page report.
Yes, 333 pages. It’s a fascinating read, with plenty of interesting graphs to hold your interest.
My Key Takeaways from 2019 Internet Trends Report
- Global Internet Usage (data traffic) growth is solid, but has slowed to six percent compared to 2017 which grew at seven percent
- Global new smartphone shipments declined four percent in 2018, compared to no growth in 2017
- In the first quarter of 2019, 87 percent of global web traffic was encrypted, up from 53 percent three years ago
- Ecommerce sales increased 12.4 percent in the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 15 to 20 percent increases in previous years
- In 2018, adults spent 6.3 hours per day on average using digital devices, with an average 3.6 hours spent on mobile devices and two hours spent on desktop/laptop computers
- For the first time, mobile usage was higher than TV usage (226 minutes vs. 216 minutes on TV)
- In terms of online platform time, two platforms are gaining the most time: YouTube at 27 percent and Instagram at 17 percent
- Twenty-six percent of American adults say they rarely disconnect from the Internet
- In the first quarter of 2019, 87 percent of web traffic was encrypted, up from 53 percent in 2016
- Fifty-two percent of consumers report they’re concerned about Internet privacy
- Two-factor authentication is used by 52 percent of websites
You can view the report in an interactive slide deck on the Bond website.
Check out her China Internet section near the end of her presentation (slide 293) about Internet usage, growth, services, apps, and social media.
