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Post Office™ Articles

Press Release: 12 March 2009

Happy Birthday Super "Sonic" Generation!

• Post Office® celebrates two decades of the World Wide Web
• UK people writing more than ever before thanks to the internet

March 2009 marks 20 years since Tim Berners-Lee “wove” the World Wide Web, and the 20th birthday of a generation who have never known life without the internet, who benefit from more opportunities to communicate through the written word than any generation before.

Dubbed the “SONIC” Generation - because they are Savvy, Online, Networked, Informed and in Control – the under-20s are reaping the rewards of growing up online according to Post Office Broadband. And new Post Office research released today reveals that 39 per cent of the nation is writing more than they were 10 years ago, thanks to the proliferation of online channels.

Despite traditionally being considered less communicative than women, men in particular are writing more than ever before. Forty-two per cent of men claim that new channels of communication such as emailing, social networking, blogging and Twittering have led them to write more than they did a decade ago.

Apart from using the internet as an outlet for the written word and the obvious time and money saving benefits of being able to shop and bank online, send emails and complete other routine tasks from the comfort of their swivel chairs, the UK’s under-20s are exploring the possibilities of greater networking opportunities and having a world of information at their fingertips.

In a recent report 62 per cent of 5-16 year olds claimed to have a social networking profile, and one in three identified the computer as the one item they could not live without.**

Internet psychologist Graham Jones said: “Because the internet is full of video and music and millions of people are using webcams each day, it’s all too easy to forget that the main way of interacting online is through typing. We have to write emails or entries into social networking sites. Even if you are on YouTube and want to make a comment you have to type it. Never before in history have we written as much as we do nowadays.

“And that’s fantastic news because it gets our brains working more – we have to start thinking and being creative. What’s clear is that the SONIC generation is truly benefiting from the internet. They are improving their writing skills and their reading skills directly as a result of what they do online.”

Hugh Stacey, head of broadband at the Post Office, said: “Anyone born in 1989 began school at a time when email was just about to tip into the mainstream and grew up during the online revolution, so they are at ease with the internet and all it has to offer.

“The SONIC generation has an important role to play in helping older generations get to grips with the internet as it is such a central part of today’s society. As well as access to a wide range of information there are social and economic benefits too – a recent study by Post Office Broadband revealed that being online can enable household spending savings of £70 a month.

“That’s why the Post Office has developed an Internet Buddy Guide which is a helpful teaching aid not just for SONICs, but anyone wanting to show a friend or relative how to use the internet.”

The Post Office’s Internet Buddy Guide and a helpful jargon buster can be downloaded from www.postoffice.co.uk

To find out more about Post Office Broadband and the Post Office’s other telecoms services, which include HomePhone, directory enquiries and mobile phone top ups, visit www.postoffice.co.uk or ask in any of the 11,5000 branches nationwide.

Milestones in the development of the internet

1971 First email is sent by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson
1989 March - Tim Berners-Lee coins the term World Wide Web (www)
1993 May - the first online newspaper is created by students at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), called The Tech
1994 First full-text Web search engine is launched – the WebCrawler
1995 The dot-com boom begins and lasts until 2001. In September, eBay is launched
1996 July 4 - Hotmail is launched commercially, tying in the concept of America’s Independence Day with freedom on the internet
1998 September - Google is launched
1999 Friends Reunited, one of the most popular website of all time, is founded by Steve and Julie Pankhust
1997 June - the domain name business.com is sold for £80,000. In November, the BBC launches BBC News Online
1998 Lastminute.com is launched
1999 The first large peer-to-peer file-sharing network is launched – Napster
2001 January - Wikipedia is launched. The website now gets approximately 912,000 hits every day
2003 April - iTunes is launched by Apple
2007 First version of BBC iPlayer is launched. In October, the Post Office launched its broadband service, the first which could be paid for in cash
2009 20th anniversary of the World Wide Web heralded by the SONIC Generation

ENDS

Notes to Editors

*Survey carried out among 2,176 UK adults by YouGov between 6-9 Feb 2009 **Figures published by ChildWise January 2009. Research was carried out across 92 schools in the UK and 1,800 5-16 year olds were surveyed

The Post Office offers a range of great value telephony products and services:

Post Office Broadband and HomePhone

The new Post Office Broadband service was launched in October 2007 and offers customers a cash prepayment option, fast connection speeds, no rural surcharges and a range of great value packages, including bundles with the Post Office’s telephone service – HomePhone.

Post Office 118855

Its directory enquiries service – 118855 – offers one of the most competitive prices on the market with all calls charged at a flat rate of 40p (no per minute charges). Customers can get two searches per call and free text back to mobiles.

Phonecards and E Top-ups

Post Office branches offer a range of great value domestic and international phonecards and a convenient E Top-up service for mobile phones.