The Online Publishers Association recently published a study on the time spent on different categories found online. The categories were defined as content, searching, commerce and communication. The study shows that half the time spent online, is spent on content. One of the reasons brought up is that searching has been improved greatly in recent years, making it easier to find the desired content. Also, the popularity of streaming online video influences the time spent on online content. In four years time, content's share in internet time rose by 37%.
The other categories see various fluctuations. Searching rose by 35%, commerce dropped by 5%, communication by 28%. The current split between categories:
- Content (47%)
- Searching (5%)
- Communication (46%)
- Commerce (2%)
Surfers' continuous search for news, entertainment and information has positive effects on the time spent on content. The appearance of social networks also has an effect on this, as this particular type of website is cast as both content and communication.