Thanks to the global COVID-19 pandemic turning even the most social of people to virtual socialization with lockdowns, the amount of time people across the world spend online has surged remarkably with the trend showing no sign of slowing, according to a new report.

The report, titled "DIGITAL 2022 – Global Overview," was released by the New York-based agency We Are Social and social media management firm Hootsuite, offering insights into digital trends, including daily time spent on the Internet and social media platforms.

Across all devices, the average Internet user aged 16 to 64 spends six hours and 58 minutes online per day, according to the report.

"South Africans now spend the greatest amount of time online each day, with the country’s working-age internet users saying that they spend an average of 10 hours and 46 minutes using connected tech every day," said the report

South Africans spend the greatest amount of time online each day, as its working-age Internet users are online 10 hours and 46 minutes daily, followed by the Philippines with an average of 10 hours and 27 minutes.

"Filipinos and South Africans are also considerably more likely to use social media for work than the global average, with more than one-third of internet users aged 16 to 64 in both countries saying that social media plays a role in their professional activities," said the report.

Countries including Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Portugal, Russia, Israel, Singapore, India, Romania and the United States spend more time than the average on the web.

People in Japan, on the other hand, spent the least amount of time on the Internet as they had a daily average of four hours and 26 minutes.

The main reasons for using the Internet, according to the report, included finding information; staying in touch with friends and family; keeping up-to-date with news and events; watching videos, TV shows and movies; researching how to do things; finding new ideas or inspiration; accessing and listening to music; researching products and brands; and filling up spare time and general browsing.

Other major uses listed in the report were education and study-related purposes; researching places, vacations and travel; researching health issues and healthcare products; managing finances and savings; gaming; business-related research; meeting new people; organizing day-to-day life; sharing opinions; and business-related networking.