British Internet users are now spending an average of 30 hours a week online, according to a new report from uSwitch.

On a work day, the average person now spends 5 hours online, 2 hours for work purposes and 3 hours for leisure, including online shopping, managing finances and socializing.

During weekends Brits spend an average of 3 hours a day online. Not surprisingly, 18-24 year olds already spend 7 hours a day online during the week and 5 hours a day on the weekend.

Social networking is one of the main reasons why Brits now spend so much time online. A quarter of adults say they need to use sites such as Facebook and Twitter at least once a day and 30 percent of 18-24 year olds spend more than 5 hours a week on them.

Only 27 percent of British Internet users think that social networking is a good thing, while 46 percent are still undecided.

Jason Glynn, uSwitch.com
Communications Expert

The majority (93%) of the population now shops on the Internet. Over 38 million people (79%) spend up to two hours a week shopping online. Brits are also spending time managing their money online with 82 percent doing so. Over a quarter (28%) spend between one and two hours a week banking online while nearly half (44%) spend up to an hour a week.

"This research shows the huge impact that the internet is having on British life. Broadband is rapidly becoming a necessity – as important to our quality of life as gas or electricity, said Jason  Glynn, communications expert at uSwitch.com.

"Our reliance looks set to increase dramatically over the coming years as younger generations come to the fore, putting the Government under even more pressure to deliver universal broadband access across the whole country."