The number of people going online every day has risen sharply in Germany, according to research by ARD and ZDF.
63% of Germans aged over 14 now go online every day, equivalent to 44.5 million people. This is an increase of 3.5 million people on just 1 year ago.
Older citizens in particular were flocking online in droves. An estimated 800,000 Germans aged over 70 have come online in the last 12 months, an increase of 44% on last year.
But whilst the number of people using the internet every day has risen, the amount of time people are spending online has not. The average amount of time that German internet users spend online is now 108 minutes per day, a significant drop from 166 minutes per day last year.
The news comes as smartphone penetration overtook laptop penetration in the country for the first time ever.
75% of German internet users now have a smartphone, compared to 72% who have a laptop and 45% who have a tablet.
The increase in smartphone penetration is being touted as a key reason behind the rise in the number of people going online every day, with the number of apps and online mobile messaging services rising all the time.Â
