50% of New Zealand kids use Internet daily

New Zealand's kids aged 6-17 are keen participants in the global internet community, Nielsen//NetRatings found. On average, children and teens use the internet 5 hours per week. While homework is the reason to go online for 80% of kids, communication and entertainment are key online activities that appeal, with 70% of kids corresponding via email, 42% chatting on Instant Messenger, 69% playing games and just over half of all kids and teens listening to music online. In comparison, New Zealanders aged over 18 appear to make more functional use of the net, namely for banking, reading the news and information searches in online guides and directories. 67% of New Zealand's young internet users have now been online for two years or more. Just under 50% of children with access to an online device use the internet daily, whilst 29% use the internet weekly. Frequency of use increases with age and children aged 12 to 17 are online almost as often as New Zealand's heaviest internet user group, adults aged 20 to 39, who are online an average of 8 hours each week.