New research data from the UK digital regulator Ofcom has revealed the latest trends in the online habits of British people. Among the findings were that men watch YouTube exclusively in a lot of cases, AI adoption has accelerated, adults are becoming less active on social media, and those who don’t trust the mainstream media are becoming more entrenched in their views.
For those that don’t know, in the UK, you need a TV license to watch live programming, and many don’t think it is a good value for their money. Additionally, we have seen platforms like Netflix raising prices for their services. All these could be reasons why Ofcom found that some men whom they studied were now using YouTube as their main or only form of viewing.
Participants said that YouTube appealed to them because the algorithm, search function, and channel subscriptions made it easy to find something interesting to watch, when compared with looking through an electronic programme guide or sifting through a streaming service interface.
The study also found that 54% of UK adults now use AI tools such as Gemini and Claude, but this is mostly driven by younger adults up to age 34. An eighth of AI users said they use the tool for conversational purposes, rising to a fifth among 25-34 year olds.
Interestingly, some of the people were chatting to AI as if it were a person, albeit unconsciously. Respondents said they used AI to seek relationship breakup advice or to keep them company when working from home. AI is also being used for creative tasks such as creating artwork, writing wedding speeches, and room layout planning.
If you ever feel like your friends don’t post on social media much anymore, that’s because they aren’t. In the UK, its use remains widespread, but now only 49% of adults actively post, share, or comment. This is down from 61% in 2024. Those surveyed said they are more selective about how they post on social media because they don’t want to post something silly and regret it later. Users say they now prefer media disappears over that which stays visible until deleted manually.
With the advent of generative AI, we have also seen websites take hits regarding their traffic. This was reflected in this study too, where respondents were found to be exploring new websites less than in 2024, down to 56% from 70%.
One of the most concerning things about social media has been the propagation of fake news; this has only become turbocharged with artificial intelligence. Now, anyone can post a fake AI video of Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying something he never said, to score political points for the poster’s worldview. The study found that while most still trust mainstream media, some people are becoming deeply mistrustful of it, preferring to get their information from independent content creators and citizen journalists on YouTube. The study found these views are becoming more entrenched.
To learn more, refer to Ofcom’s announcement, which contains links to the full report.