The Internet has turned from a media channel into a utility, the Trans-media Romanian Audit Bureau (BRAT) says, estimating, however, that in the next ten years, 90% of the urban population and 70% of rural residents will have access to online.
Under the title ‘BRAT – Media Trends’, the office presented on Monday the findings about the Internet.
The younger generation, the natives of the digital age, are learning from the earliest ages to use the Internet. In urban areas, 95% of the young people aged 14-24 use the internet, the percentage exceeding 98% in Bucharest and large cities. In rural areas the percentage is of 82% but, given the sharp growth rate, most likely the shares will equalize in a few years.
The television has begun to change, 12% of Romanians already have a ‘smart TV’ and begin to use it as such.
The printed media, even if it has been most affected so far, losing supremacy on written information, generated some of the strongest brands online. Ordinary people used to reading, will continue to read the contents of the known brand, by just changing the platform, BRAT says.
Also, according to BRAT, in recent years, Internet penetration has grown exponentially. Currently, there are 8.8 million users nationwide, of which 6.5 million use the Internet every day. Also, 70% of the urban population and 44% of the rural population in Romania use the Internet. In urban areas, the daily consumption of internet age for the 14-64 years segment has increased more than sevenfold from 2002 hitherto, from 8% to 56%.