EU people turn to internet for cultural purposes

In 2024, people in the EU widely used the internet for cultural purposes. The most common activity was watching TV or videos online, reported by 79% of internet users. This was followed by reading online news sites, newspapers or news magazines (70%), listening to or downloading music (65%) and playing or downloading games (34%).

The highest shares of internet users watching TV or videos online were recorded in the Netherlands and Finland (both 96%) and Cyprus (94%), while the lowest were observed in Romania (44%), Bulgaria (55%) and Slovakia (63%).

Reading news online (from sites, newspapers or magazines) was reported by 91% of internet users in Czechia, 90% in Finland and 89% in Cyprus. By contrast, the lowest shares were in Romania (50%), France (56%) and Italy (62%).

Source dataset: isoc_ci_ac_i

Over one-third of users bought cultural goods and services online

In 2024, 36% of internet users in the EU purchased some kind of cultural goods and services online.

Subscriptions were popular, particularly those to films, series and sports streaming services (30%) and to music streaming services (21%).

One-quarter of internet users (25%) bought tickets to events.

When it comes to reading habits, printed books, magazines and newspapers (16%) were more popular than e-books and audio books (7%).

Additionally, internet users paid to download software (11%), games (10%) and a minor part purchased physical copies of other audiovisual contents such as music and films or series (6%).

Source dataset: isoc_ec_ibgs