Internet usage over mobiles set to increase: Zenith

The consumption of Internet over the mobile is expected to increase by nearly 28 percent this year, with the overall internet access over handheld devices set to reach 71 percent of all media usage across devices. The overall increase in media consumption will also rise by 1.4 percent, driven by mobile internet, according to Zenith’s Media Consumption Forecast.

With the increase in mobile internet usage, media usage on traditional systems such as desktop Internet will decline by 3.4 percent in total, according to the forecast. The most significant shrink, according to Zenith report, will be in the magazine category, which will decline by 6.7 percent, followed by newspapers at 5.6 percent, and radio by 2.4 percent. Media usage over television did better than other categories and is expected to be down by 1.5 percent.

Despite the decline, television will continue to dominate global media consumption, as the medium is expected to account for 38 percent of total media consumption by 2018, while Internet will account for 31 percent.

In 2015, mobile overtook desktop to become the primary medium for accessing the Internet. This year Zenith predicts that people across the globe will spend on average 86 minutes a day using mobile Internet, compared to 36 minutes using desktop Internet.

For 2017 the report forecasts 1.2 percent growth in overall consumption, followed by 0.4 percent growth in 2018, as mobile usage starts to level off.