If time spent online in the US via personal computers were compressed into one hour, 16 minutes of it, or 27%, would be spent on social networking and forums, according to data from Experian Marketing Services.

In the UK, 13 minutes out of every hour online are spent on social networking and forums, whereas in Australia Internet users spend 14 minutes on social sites and forums, Experian said.

In the US, nine minutes out of every hour are spent on entertainment sites, and five minutes on shopping sites, according to the findings from Experian's 2013 Digital Marketer Report.

UK vs. US vs. Australia

In the UK, 9 minutes out of every hour online is spent on entertainment sites and six minutes on shopping sites. In Australia, users spend 9 minutes of every hour online on entertainment and 4 minutes shopping.

Though social media takes up a plurality of the time spent online, proportionate to other online activities its share declined across all three regions:

  • In the US, which has been the most dominant in social media consumption in the last three years, social media dropped from 30% of time spent online to 27%.
  • In Australia, time spent on social dropped from 27% to 24%.
  • In the UK, it dipped from 25% to 22% year-over-year.

That decline highlights the rise in access via 3G and 4G networks, as consumers spend increasingly more time online while on the move—i.e., via mobile device—Experian said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Vahe Habeshian

Vahe Habeshian is the director of publications at MarketingProfs and a longtime editor. Reach him via vahe@marketingprofs.com.

LinkedIn: Vahe Habeshian

Twitter: @habesh