The Maltese were among the most likely in the EU to use online streaming services and play online games to entertain themselves in 2020, the year of the lockdown.
Ninety-three per cent of local internet users reported streaming television and video content last year, the second-highest percentage recorded among EU member states, according to Eurostat data.
The two countries at the top of the list were the Netherlands and Cyprus, at 95 per cent each.
The lowest shares were observed in Romania and Bulgaria, where only 37 per cent and 44 per cent of users respectively reported streaming online content.
Malta also recorded the second-highest proportion of people who spent their time online playing games. Tied with Denmark, some 47 per cent of Maltese who use the internet said they largely spent their online time gaming. Only the Netherlands was higher at 56 per cent.
The lowest proportions of those who spent time gaming online were recorded in Poland and Bulgaria, at 19 and 16 per cent.
According to Eurostat, in 2020 some 90 per cent of Maltese households had access to an internet connection, representing a jump of 15 percentage points in nine years from where it stood, at 75 per cent, in 2011.
Some 86 per cent of Maltese people said they spent time reading online news sites or magazines, 11 percentage points higher than the EU average which stands at 75 per cent across all member states.
Across Europe, young people (16 to 24 years old) were less likely to spend time reading online newspapers.
However, Malta is one of 11 member states with a high possibility of youth engaging with online news more than older internet users.
Some 86 per cent of Maltese people said they spent time reading online news sites
Ninety per cent of Maltese internet users aged between 16 and 24 years old replied that they did so, compared to 76 per cent of 55 to 74-year-olds.
Some 75 per cent of Maltese internet users said they spent their leisure time online listening to music on streaming sites or through web radio.
Some 95 per cent of young people in Malta, Denmark, Finland, Spain and Portugal reported listening to music online, the second-highest figure per capita recorded among 16-to-24 year-olds in the EU. The EU average stands at around 87 per cent for that age group.
Third most likely to purchase books online
As for online purchases, the Maltese were the third-highest per capita to purchase printed books, magazines or newspapers online, with 22 per cent of internet users reporting the habit.
However, Maltese, as well as those in Italy and Croatia, were among the least likely in the EU to go online for tickets to cultural events, with less than five per cent of users reported.
Earlier this year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported that internet use for businesspeople had risen by 10 per cent last year, with more than 60,000 employees making use of the internet for business purposes and with 31,449 people accessing the internet via a mobile device provided by their employer.
A study carried out by the Malta Communications Authority also found that internet usage had increased by two per cent in 2020 when compared to previous data recorded in 2016.
Internet service providers who spoke to Times of Malta in 2020 said that by March, demand for data had increased by some 50 per cent when compared to ‘business as usual’ levels.