Once only used for email and contact details, today Australians are connecting with the internet on a whole new level, according to the Sensis® 2009 e-Business Report released today.

The special report, which is in its 14th year, explores how Australians interact online, the use of social media and other applications, the rate of mobile internet connectivity and the level with which children are supervised whilst online. The results are based on interviews with 1,500 consumers. A separate release explores how small businesses use and purchase information and e-commerce technology.

Report author Ms Christena Singh said usage of most internet applications had increased strongly during the year, making the internet now a regular part of Australian life.

“In particular, we have seen Australians increasingly join online communities, upload and download video, watch streaming content and join social networking sites.

“Australians are also now using their mobile phones to connect to the internet and to undertake a range of activities,” Ms Singh said.

Overall, approximately one third (27 per cent) of Australians now belong to an online community, an increase of seven percentage points over the last 12 months.

Downloading video or watching streamed content has also become increasingly popular. Four in 10 Australians (36 per cent) now download video or watch streamed video content, up four percentage points over the year.

Ms Singh said uploading video content onto the internet was another application to increase in usage during the year, rising four percentage points to 14 per cent.

Looking for information on products or services remains the most used internet application, (78 per cent), followed by paying for purchases or bills (62 per cent), ordering goods or services (61 per cent), and making bookings and banking (60 per cent each).

“However, one of the biggest changes to have occurred during the year is the way in which we connect to the internet. Connecting online is no longer solely done from a computer, with more than one in four Australians now using a mobile phone to access the internet.”

The use of mobile internet is highest amongst younger people, with approximately half of Australians in their 20s using a mobile phone to access the internet.

“However, what may be surprising to some is that mobile internet is also being taken up by Australians in their 30s and 40s.”

The findings suggest approximately one third (33 per cent) of Australians in their 30s and one quarter (24 per cent) of those in their 40s are using the internet on their mobile.

Ms Singh said a wide range of online applications were beginning to be used on mobile.

“With the introduction of the iPhone and other devices, we have really seen a change in the way Australians interact with their mobile.

“It appears Australians are increasingly open to undertaking a range of activities on their mobile, from watching TV to scanning a mobile code.”

Looking for information about products and services is the most popular online activity undertaken on a mobile (41 per cent), followed by using social networking sites (40 per cent) and looking for suppliers of products and services (36 per cent).

Other activities currently undertaken using a mobile phone include downloading video content (27 per cent), downloading games (25 per cent), purchasing ringtones (20 per cent), watching TV (17 per cent), ordered goods and services and scanning a mobile or QR code (12 per cent each).

Ms Singh noted social networking sites had continued to be popular with Australians, particularly younger Australians.

Overall, four in 10 (41 per cent) Australians use social networking sites. As one might expect, the heaviest users of social networking sites are 14 to 19 year olds, with a 90 per cent usage rate. However, usage has increased most in the 18 to 19 age group, up by 18 percentage points over the year to 90 per cent.

The frequency with which social networking sites are used is also high, with more than one in four (44 per cent) accessing a site at least daily.

Interestingly for business, almost one in five people access social networking sites at their workplace.

The Sensis® 2009 e-Business Report also explored the extent to which children use the internet and the level of supervision. The findings suggest children in 72 per cent of households access the internet.

On average, Australian children start using the internet between the ages of six and 10.

“However, we have seen a growth in the number of children who begin to use the internet when they are five or younger,” she explained.

Approximately one quarter (24 per cent) of children started using the internet when they were five years or younger, up six percentage points from last year.

Supervision occurs in 72 per cent of households where children use the internet, an increase of six percentage points over the year. Four per cent of households allow children to use the internet somewhere other than their home.

For those households who do not supervise their children on the internet, 45 per cent have never done so, while 36 per cent stopped supervision when their children reached the ages of 11 to 15 years.

Children in 40 per cent of households visit social networking sites or belong to an online community, with one in four using an online chat room.

The report then looked more broadly at Australians’ access to computers and levels of broadband connection in the home.

Overall, ninety per cent of Australian households have a computer – either desktop, laptop or both - and 85 per cent are internet-enabled. Standard broadband is the main way Australians connect to the internet (59 per cent), followed by wireless broadband (31 percent) and dial-up (13 per cent). Wireless broadband experienced the biggest growth during the year, up three percentage points.

“One of the most pleasing aspects of the findings is we are seeing greater internet connectivity amongst lower income households,” she concluded.

Internet penetration amongst households with an income of up to $35,000 grew 12 percentage points during the year to 73 percent.

About Sensis

Sensis is Telstra's advertising business and Australia's leading directories information resource, helping Australians find, buy and sell. Sensis delivers innovative and integrated local search and digital marketing solutions via print, online, voice and mobile channels to connect Australians 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Sensis' powerful, multi-channel portfolio provides an unparalleled local information source incorporating the White Pages® and Yellow Pages® directories; the MediaSmart digital advertising business; the Whereis® digital mapping business; the Citysearch® entertainment and lifestyle website; the sensis.com.au search engine; the 1234 operator-assisted, premium voice information service; and the accommodation website gostay.com.au. Sensis is also a partner in some of China's most popular websites including real estate and home furnishings website, SouFun.com; auto websites Autohome.com and Che168.com; and digital devices websites IT168.com and PCPop.com.cn.