Internet use in Mexico

The Internet is one of those innovations that changed the world. we know. The health crisis made it clear to us more. Can you imagine the solitude of the past 15 months without the connectivity that the Internet allowed? The devastation, which is already so far-reaching, could have been disastrous.

Recently released Inegi data estimates that in 2020, there were, in Mexico, just over 84 million Internet users. In other words, 7 out of 10 Mexicans aged 6 and over use it. It’s a number that never stops growing. Nearly 22 million additional users since the first measurement in 2015.

Today, many Mexicans use the Internet most of the day. We wake up and immediately check the news, social networks and instant messages. We do sports by listening to music or podcasts. We do video calls. We send emails. We ordered food. We barely made it to noon. What technological distance do we notice from those years when it could take minutes to load a web page or download a song…hours!

Now, although there has been a lot of progress in Internet penetration in our country, it must be taken into account that in other countries, such as South Korea, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan, nine out of ten people are within reach. There are no comparable statistics around the world on this topic, but we also know that Mexico is way ahead of countries like Colombia and South Africa.

The group that uses it more in proportion to other ages corresponds to those between the ages of 12 and 24. In this clip, 9 out of 10 uses it. Those between the ages of 25 and 34 follow. As can be assumed, it decreases with age. Although this statistic does not take them into account, it is becoming more and more common to see children under the age of two swiping their fingers across device screens.

The main use of the Internet is communication (93.8%). This is followed by his use of searching for information (91.0%) and accessing social networks (89.0%). These are the three main uses. But I also say this for entertainment, access to audiovisual content, reading newspapers, magazines, books, and support for training and education.

At the start of the pandemic, Hootsuite provided some interesting data about digital behavior. For example, it is the consumption of live news, movies and series that has increased the most. The use of instant messaging, the use of social networks, and online purchases have also seen exponential growth.

Largely driven by the use of the Internet, the information access paradigm has changed, especially in the last 50 years. Now there is more information and more access to it. But such breadth also requires individual action to filter between a lot of correct and incorrect, mixed information. As in a wonderful digital forest, the nutritious contents and other very toxic substances coexist. It takes constant exercise of critical awareness to discern what is worthwhile and what is not.

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