Steep rise in 'heavy' net users

The number of such users has more than doubled from 16 per cent in 2001 to 38 per cent in 2006.

The number of "heavy users" of the Internet has more than doubled since 2001 "" from 16 per cent in 2001 and 20 per cent in 2004 to 38 per cent in 2006.

Moreover, "heavy users" spend an average of 8.2 hours per week on the Internet, according to the I-Cube 2006 report prepared by the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International.

Concomitantly, the percentage of light Internet users has steadily declined from 63 per cent in 2001 to 28 per cent in 2006.

The study indicates that school-going kids spend an average of a little over five hours a week on the Internet, while college going students spend an average of over seven hours a week. Older men spend an average of nearly 10 hours a week.

Among women, working women spend an average of nine hours and non-working women spend nearly six hours a week on the Internet.

Subho Ray, president, IAMAI said: "The study has confirmed what we have guessed for some time: among some sections of media consumers, the time spent on the Internet is longer than on any other media. This is food for thought for advertisers and media buyers."

The study also establishes that the average time spent on the Internet in terms of minutes per week increases with the increasing age of the user. The active Internet users exhibit a marked increase in usage as they graduate from school to college, and then onto their professional lives. The Internet has surely stamped its presence on the urban Indian landscape.

Mohan Krishnan, VP & GM, IMRB International said, "The trend is of great relevance. It leads us to the assumption that the internet has now penetrated beyond the communication needs of the active user population and is no longer an avenue for exploring their curiosity.

The active user population has found greater and diverse uses beyond communication and this is where the opportunity lies for far greater growth and adoption."