by Mark Ollig
The
“network of networks” keeps growing every day.
More
than 500 million devices are now connected to the Internet here in the U.S.,
according to The Connected Home Report.
The
Connected Home Report was compiled by Connected Intelligence, which is a part
of the marketing research department of the NPD Group.
The
NPD Group provides global tracking information and advisory services. You can
follow them on Twitter at @npdgrp.
Surveys
were made during the first quarter of 2013, of US consumers age 18 and over.
The
report revealed how our use of computing tablets and smartphones has
dramatically increased by 18 and 9 million devices, respectively – in just the
last three months.
Of
the smartphones being used, Apple and Samsung models are leading the way.
Apple
devices also make up the majority of computing tablets being used when
accessing the Internet.
Surprisingly,
tablet computing devices used for accessing the Internet within households
jumped from 35 percent just three months ago, to 53 percent today.
The
number one household computing device connected to the Internet is a personal
computer.
“Even
with this extraordinary growth in the smartphone and tablet market, PCs are
still the most prevalent connected device in US Internet households, and this
is a fact that won’t be changing any time soon,” John Buffone, of NPD Connected
Intelligence is quoted as saying.
It
was reported, 93 percent of US Internet connected homes are using a personal
computer.
However,
for the first time, the total number of tablet and smartphone devices connected
to the Internet is greater than personal computers.
Other
devices connected to the Internet mentioned in the report were high-definition
televisions, video gaming consoles; media set-top box’s streaming video, and
Blu-ray disc players.
I
would also add networked security cameras, electronic monitoring sensors, home
appliances, heating, ventilating, air condition systems, embedded vehicle
devices, and home and business commercial power monitoring.
Of
course, more could be added to the list.
The
report found US households now average 5.7 smart devices which are capable of
connecting to the Internet.
Yours
truly has four personal smart devices I use to connect to the Internet: my
smartphone, iPodtouch, Kindle tablet, and my MacBook computer.
I
found numerous social media statistical tracking sites showing the current
number of Facebook users worldwide between 963 and 984 million.
Here,
in the US, there are an estimated 245 million people using the Internet.
February
statistics revealed there were 165 million Facebook social media users in this
country, according to Socialbakers Facebook statistical tracking website, http://www.checkfacebook.com/.
China’s
version of Facebook is called, the Renren Network, meaning “Everyone’s
Website.” It is reported to have an active user base of approximately 172
million. It is located at http://renren.com/.
When
we look at China’s Internet statistics for December 2012, we find the world’s
largest Internet population averages 564 million Internet users, according to
the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).
China
has a total population of about 1.3 billion.
In
China, it was stated 398 million people use a personal computer for accessing
the Internet, while 420 million are using a mobile device.
From
what locations are users accessing the Internet from inside China?
The
information survey states 92 percent of Internet users are accessing it from
home, while 32 percent said during work, 22 percent are accessing the Internet
from a cybercafé, and 16 percent responded it was in school.
The
topmost reported Internet activity by China’s users is instant messaging, with
83 percent.
Making
use of a search engine was a close second, at 80 percent, and listening to
online music came in at 77 percent.
China’s
use of social media, blogging, and watching online videos, was tied at 66
percent.
In
the US, statistics show 67 percent of us visit Internet social media sites,
while 91 percent of China’s Internet users visit them.
Here,
in the US, 43 percent of us browse social media sites using our smartphones,
compared to 58 percent in China.
Looking
back to 1995, there were an estimated 16 million users of the Internet,
worldwide.
This
year, more than 2.7 billion people worldwide will be using the Internet.
This
number represents almost 39 percent of the world’s population, according to the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
These
percentages and numbers will continue to increase, as more people use today’s
and tomorrow’s yet-to-be-invented devices to connect with the Internet.
We
will go on using the Internet for work, learning, entertainment, social and
business communication; for interacting with the intelligent devices connected
to it, and to explore and play in.
The
Internet remains the network of networks.
