Aussies to spend 75% of winter waking hours online, survey finds

With winter in full swing, many of us forgo the cold outdoors in favour of keeping warm in front of a screen at home. In fact, a recent survey found that we could spend as much as 75% of our waking hours online during the colder months, according to a Dodo report unpacking internet habits.

Dubbed the “Birdwatchers Report”, local telco Dodo analysed how Australians spend time using the internet and being online. Although the 75% figure might raise eyebrows, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering how many hours we spend in front of screens at both work and home.

According to the report, Australians are expected to stream roughly 200 hours of content during winter. Contributing to this number is data suggesting the average binge-watching session lasts for six hours. For Gen Z viewers, this number increases to a whopping eight hours.

Dodo also tackled the topic of guilty pleasures – what we’re not proud of but enjoy doing anyway. Late night scrolling topped the list, as 51% listed it as their guiltiest pleasure.

What other guilty pleasures are Australians obsessed with, you ask? Binge-watching shows (41%) came second, followed by reading comment threads (31%), gaming (24%), and social media stalking (23%).

Sure to cause some arguments, one in four respondents admitted to secretly watching a show or movie they were meant to watch with someone else. Millennials and Gen Z folks are even more impatient, with 38% and 42% engaging in streaming polyamory (a term I just made up).

How much data do Australians use?

All that streaming, gaming, and downloading adds up over time. 2023 data from NBN Co revealed that Australian households average 443GB of downloads across 22 devices each month.

We’re also more likely to spend more time online when it’s cold. Weekend internet predictably rises above weekday levels, but the seasonal differences are interesting. When weekends roll around, Dodo’s data shows a 17% internet usage increase during winter versus 10% in summer.

All of the above leads to a pretty clear conclusion: Australians flock to the internet when it’s cold outside.

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