We Moved Our Lives Online. Why Are We Still So Busy?

Published on октомври 11, 2026

Before breakfast, I can pay a bill, order groceries, book a train ticket, answer a colleague, and see my family in another country. With slightly more ambitious plans, I could also attend a wedding on Zoom, register a company in Estonia, and schedule an observation through a real telescope. The laundry, unfortunately, remains stubbornly offline.

A generation ago, ordinary errands required several journeys, a telephone, and possibly a patient relative. Now they require a phone, six passwords, two verification codes, and the ability to remember why I opened the phone in the first place. I love the convenience. But I sometimes wonder how saving so much time became quite so time-consuming. From going online to living online.

The internet has become part of the ordinary machinery of life. We work, learn, shop, arrange appointments, maintain friendships, and deal with institutions through screens. According to the International Telecommunication Union, around 6 billion people used the internet in 2025, while 2.2 billion remained offline. In high-income countries, 94% of people were online; in low-income countries, just 23%. [1] Even our ordinary shopping habits show how far the shift has gone: 77% of EU internet users bought or ordered goods or services online in 2024. [2]

Behind those figures are meaningful freedoms: a person who can study without relocating, a small business that can reach customers abroad, a grandparent who can watch a child grow across a border. Geography has become less of an obstacle to participation. That is something worth celebrating. The world is online, but very unevenly.

DataReportal’s Digital 2026 country reports put internet use at 99% of the population in both Iceland and Denmark. At the other end, Burundi stood at 11.1%, and the Central African Republic at 12%. These reports use late-2025 data. [3–6] That difference matters. For some people, “I cannot get online” means the Wi-Fi is being annoying. For others, access itself remains a major barrier.

There is another interesting comparison. Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey found that 56% of adults in Japan said they were online almost constantly, compared with 13% in Nigeria—the highest and lowest shares among the 24 countries surveyed. [7] Notice the distinction: how many people use the internet, how often they connect, and how many hours they spend there are three different questions.

“Most online” needs a little explanation before it deserves a headline.

How much of the day disappears into the internet?

DataReportal’s January 2020 report put average daily internet use at 6 hours and 43 minutes. Its January 2022 report recorded 6 hours and 58 minutes. The February 2025 report gave 6 hours and 38 minutes. [8–10] So the figures do not tell a simple story of more time online every year.

The research also changed: GWI added users aged 65 and above in 2024 and subsequently revised how it measures media time. [10–11] For a current perspective, DataReportal’s April 2026 overview reports 33 hours and 13 minutes per week consuming online media—approximately 4 hours and 45 minutes a day. This measures online media consumption, with possible overlap between activities, and cannot be compared directly with the older total-internet-time figures. [11–12] I would therefore resist announcing that humanity has suddenly found two spare hours.

What these measurements do establish is that digital activities occupy a substantial part of connected people’s lives. Our attention already has plenty of appointments. Things you can do online that still sound slightly fictional. Shopping and banking are familiar. Some other possibilities deserve a second look.

Say “I do” through a screen. Utah County offers wedding ceremonies over Zoom with a deputy clerk, the couple, and witnesses. Recognition outside the relevant jurisdiction can vary, so this is a real service with specific conditions, rather than a universal shortcut. [13]

Apply for divorce online. Estonia introduced its e-divorce service in December 2024. Applications can be submitted digitally, although the process described by the government’s e-Estonia article still includes one physical meeting to finalize the divorce. [14]

Enel Pungas, who led the service’s development, explained the thinking neatly:

“The state has no reason to make it even more complicated.” [14]

A sentence that deserves a place above quite a few online forms.

Run a company across a border. Estonia’s e-Residency program lets approved users register a company online and manage it remotely. Obtaining the digital identity includes collecting the ID kit; e-Residency is a digital business identity, rather than permission to live in Estonia. [15]

Operate an observatory telescope. Slooh offers remote telescope access. Depending on the plan, users can select a telescope, target, date, and time, and receive astronomical images and data. [16] Apparently, reaching another galaxy can involve fewer tabs than choosing an insurance package. Help scientists study galaxies. Through Galaxy Zoo, volunteers classify astronomical images for research, including images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. [17] The same internet that provides an endless supply of cat videos also lets us contribute to science. It has range.

We gained freedom... and inherited the paperwork When services moved online, customers took over parts of the work that employees once helped them do. We enter the details, compare the options, interpret the conditions, upload the documents, and check whether everything went through. Self-service can be wonderful when the process is clear. When it is confusing, the customer becomes an unpaid administrator. Imagine choosing a service you know little about. The website offers twelve packages, several documents, and a reassuring invitation to “find the right solution.” Excellent. Apparently, I have also been appointed the solution architect.

My interpretation is that digital convenience removes physical effort while sometimes adding mental effort. A journey disappears, but a small research project takes its place. Access should come with guidance.

Being able to open a website does not mean being able to understand its services. People arrive with different languages, confidence levels, abilities, and familiarity with the subject. Someone who comfortably books flights online may still struggle to compare insurance terms or choose unfamiliar software. Businesses can help: use familiar language, explain the options, make the next step visible, and preserve a way to reach a person. A visitor may already be managing work, shopping, family logistics, and several unfinished decisions. Clear information is a form of consideration.

A useful role for AI

This is where I see a practical role for AI assistants. A visitor should be able to ask, “Which option fits my situation?” and get help using the business’s actual information. BizDriver.ai’s website agent is designed to answer questions from approved website content and documents, help visitors compare relevant options, and capture and route inquiries. [18] Its broader offering also includes specialized agents and discussions about internal use and white-label customization, with scope and implementation agreed for those needs. [19] The underlying information still matters. An assistant needs current sources, clear limits, and a useful next step when an answer requires a person. I would judge its value by whether someone understands their options and can move forward with less effort. We can already use the internet to start a company, get married, and study distant galaxies. Surely we can also help a customer understand which service to choose before their coffee goes cold.

Sources

1. ITU, Facts and Figures 2025 press release, November 17, 2025.

2. Eurostat, Online shopping in the EU keeps growing, February 20, 2025; 2024 data.

3. DataReportal, Digital 2026: Iceland, late-2025 data.

4. DataReportal, Digital 2026: Denmark, late-2025 data.

5. DataReportal, Digital 2026: Burundi, late-2025 data.

6. DataReportal, Digital 2026: Central African Republic, late-2025 data.

7. Pew Research Center, Most adults across 24 countries are online at least several times a day, September 8, 2025.

8. DataReportal, Digital 2020 Global Overview, January 30, 2020.

9. DataReportal, Digital 2022: Time Spent Using Connected Tech Continues to Rise, January 26, 2022.

10. DataReportal, Digital 2025: The world is ever more connected, February 2025; also documents the addition of older survey participants.

11. DataReportal, Notes on Data, documenting the Q4 2024 media measurement change and publication-schedule changes.