90% Finns use Internet, 75% with cell-phone

The use of Internet with mobile phones has become ever more common, even for daily chores like shopping, says the Statistics Finland.

Eighty-nine per cent of the Finns, aged between 16 and 89, were found to use the Internet this year, with 76 per cent using it several times a day.

The most common device of accessing Internet is mobile phone, used by 75 per cent of the country’s population.

One-quarter of them have bought something from the Internet using mobile phones, while eight per cent have rented accommodations from private persons via online rental sites. Only three per cent of them have lost data from their phones due to malware infiltration.

However, the growth in Internet users this year remained confined to the oldest age bracket.

The second most common device used to connect to the Internet is laptop (65%), followed by 41 per cent using tablets for this purpose.

Finns use the Internet for everyday errands, communication, following the media, and searching information. The use of online banking is the most common everyday errand. Eighty-three per cent persons aged 16 to 89 used online banking in the past three months, when 47 per cent of the population bought goods or services through the web.

The prevalence of online shopping with mobile phones has multiplied over the past decade. In 2018, one-quarter of the people aged 16 to 89 bought something using mobile phones, nearly half of those aged under 45 had been shopping on the web with their phones, as in the last few years, shopping with mobile phone has increased steadily in all age groups.

The data security of mobile phones has now become more significant. However, the actual data security risks are very rare in Finland. Only three per cent of the persons aged 16 to 89, who use smartphones, sometimes lost data from their phones due to virus or malware infiltration. Seventy per cent of the smartphone users have a data security programme or service in their phones. Finns in general take fair care of their privacy. Sixty-six per cent of the smartphone users have restricted access of applications to their personal data.

Social media services are still popular in Finland. Sixty-one per cent of the Finns aged 16 to 89 had followed some social media in the past three months. The use of social network services is closely tied to age. Ninety-three per cent of those aged 16 to 24, and 87 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 used a social network service.

The sharing economy is growing in the country, but is yet to become widespread. In 2018, short-term renting of accommodation from private persons through sharing economy platforms on the Internet has risen by three percentage points in popularity from the previous year standing now at eight per cent of the population aged 16 to 89. Correspondingly, transportation offered by private persons had been used by four per cent of those aged 16 to 89 in the past three months.