The reception of Yepp, a mobile service aimed at a younger audience launched this summer, has shown that in addition 18-35 year olds, there is also a demand for digital services and easy ‘anytime, anywhere’ use in the 36-55 age group. With data demand growing among mobile internet users and Yepp offering unlimited domestic mobile internet access, Yettel wanted to find out what different age groups use the internet for and how, even though the way they access the internet is the same across generations. The results of their national survey show significant differences in use between age groups.
Few people use the internet a little (and many use it a lot)
Only 1 in 100 Gen Z respondents, 4 in Gen Y and 12 in Gen X use their smartphone once a day or less. Nearly half (49%) of 16-25 year olds, a third of 46-55 year olds and a quarter of 56+ year olds access the internet on their mobile phone “whenever possible” – that is, almost all day. This puts smartphones ahead of all other devices. The next most popular are laptops and notebooks, which are used at least once a day by nearly half of respondents (48%).
Gen Y, particularly those aged 26 to 35, spend most time on social media. The most popular activity on social networking sites is reading posts – one in two respondents spend at least 1-2 hours a day doing this. This is followed by watching videos, and much less time is spent writing posts and comments. Videos are clearly the most popular activity with Gen Z: two in three (66%) spend at least one to two hours a day watching videos per day, while 20% spend more than three hours a day with this activity.
Facebook and Instagram still on the top
Young people are clearly the most attached to Tiktok and Instagram. 50% and 55% of Gen Z use Tiktok and Instagram several times a day respectively. Facebook is slightly less popular among people under 26, but still the majority (81%) access the platform daily. YouTube is more a platform for Gen Z and Gen Y, while X (formerly Twitter) is one of the less popular sites in Hungary. Other social networking sites are used less, but Reddit, BeReal and especially Snapchat are still popular among the youngest generation (37% of Gen Z use Snapchat at least once a day). Although Teams is a work tool for many, it is used more by Gen Y and Gen Z than Gen X.
Online messaging habits
There are also age differences in messaging and chat services: the younger people are, the more likely they are to use Messenger – but even 56% of people over 56 use the app more than once a day. Viber and WhatsApp show a similar pattern. Although Gen Y and Gen X are also frequent users of these platforms, the latter have a higher proportion of non-users. Gmail, Outlook and office mail are used more often for sending emails by Gen Y and Gen X.
Gen Y, especially those aged 26-35, spend some time writing work and private emails (51% and 46% spend at least half an hour a day doing this, respectively). Gen Y also uses chat platforms most for work (47% chat at least half an hour a day), while GenZ chats most for private purposes (one in two young people chat at least 2-3 hours a day). The time spent chatting also decreases with age.
In light of the above, all generations spend a lot of time in the digital space, but to varying degrees. Yepp, the country’s first all-digital subscription, is a good solution for users who primarily need data and prefer to do their business online. The plan offers unlimited domestic data and 50GB of roaming airtime, it is available without commitment and can be ordered digitally through the Yettel app. It brings the same user experience as many popular services from streaming to food ordering to car sharing. It also gives more digitally savvy users the freedom they expect with no strings attached.
Age definitions used in the research for each generation: Z: 16-24 years old, Y: 25-44 years old, X: 45-65 years old:
[1] The online survey was conducted on a sample of 1,006 between 14 and 25 April 2024. The sample is representative of the Hungarian population aged 16-65 in terms of age, gender, region, type of settlement and education (Impetus Research).