Between 2015 and 2020, the number of internet users based in the south of Italy increased by more than 27 percent, a sign that the existing digitalization gap between the south of the country and other geographical areas might be starting to decrease. Among the reasons for not using the internet, lack of skills appears to be the main deterring factor in Italian households, followed by lack of interest in the media. Students and professionals reportedly have the highest share of internet users in the country, while only smaller shares of Italian homemakers used the internet daily, while pensioners were the occupational group least likely to use the internet daily in 2020.
As of the third quarter of 2020, nine in ten internet users in Italy were engaging with online videos monthly, with users spending almost 19 minutes per session watching content on YouTube’s website. The increase in popularity of entertainment websites is a direct consequence of the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic in the country, with the pandemic causing a 50 percent audience growth in the days after the March 2020 lockdown mandates. While video streaming websites and OTT platforms have remained one of the most popular website categories for internet users in Italy even beyond the immediate effect of the COVID-19 outbreak, search websites were used by more than 94 percent of Italy's digital audiences. Both Google.com and the country-specific domain Google.it ranked among the most visited websites from users based in Italy, with Google.com amassing more than two billion visits in December 2020.
