The Internet Traffic Wars: Which US State is the Most Addicted to the Web?

The internet is what everyone today uses for everything; communication, marketing, research, entertainment - you name it! About half of today’s global population can access the internet through their computers, tablets, or smartphones. More and more people are joining the internet party every day as 3rd world countries enhance their internet connectivity. The USA is at the heart of all these changes. The downside of being at the center of rapid technological changes is that many Americans now find themselves addicted to technology, more so the internet.

Internet Addiction in the US: What the Stats Say

• There’s at least one kid in every 5 American homes who has an internet addiction.
• The US ranks among the 25 countries with the highest social media addiction in the world, with a daily average of 2 hours and 7 minutes of social media usage.
• Between 2-3% of American online video gamers have an internet addiction.
• Internet access in the US increased by 17 percent from 75% in 2012 to 92% in 2023.
• The total number of internet users in the USA in 2022 almost hit 300 million. By January 2023, this number had already surpassed 311 million.
• More than 125 million American households acquired broadband internet by January 2021.

Tactica, a globally acclaimed digital marketing agency recently took a deep dive into USA’s internet addiction to better understand the extent of addiction in different states. The internet addiction study by Tactica was anchored on the following parameters:

1. Internet coverage & availability.
2. Proportion of smart home listing.
3. Online purchases
4. Social media usage
5. YouTube subscription rates
6. Cellphone usage
7. Online gaming per capita
8. Streaming Services

1. Internet Coverage & Availability in 2023

According to the annual rankings from BroadbandNow, the leading U.S. states in terms of internet coverage, speed, and availability are:

1. Delaware ranks first with 96.1% of residents on a reliable internet plan and about 58% with access to fiber-optic internet. The state has nearly 3,000 internet service providers. The "average" wireless internet download and upload speeds in Delaware are 25Mbps and 3Mbps respectively.
2. New Hampshire ranks second with 96.8% wireless internet access. The download & upload speeds, number of internet providers, and access to fiber optic are the same in New Hampshire and Delaware.
3. Coming in third is Maryland with 97.5% broadband access, 25Mbps & 3Mbps download and upload speeds respectively, and 66% fiber-optic access.
4. New Jersey is number 4 with 98.8% broadband, 25Mbps & 3Mbps download & upload speeds, approximately 3000 internet service providers, and 74.5% fiber-optic access.
5. New York: 97.5% of New Yorkers access broadband internet, 69.4% have fiber optic, and they have at least 25Mbps and 3Mbps download & upload speeds respectively.

2. States With the Most Smart Home Listings

Homeowners are obsessed with the Internet of Things (IoT) features such as smart lights, doorbells, alarms, and cameras that connect to smartphones or tablets over the internet. Smart gadgets also extend to HVAC systems, kitchen appliances, TVs, etc. Connecting these gadgets to a homeowner’s smartphone hands them more control of their homes even when they’re away from home.

Smart home technologies enhance the desirability of a home on the market. So, which states are crazy about owning homes they can control over the internet? As per VividMaps report:

1. Florida tops the list of states with the most smart home listings with 101,680 smart homes.
2. Texas follows in 2nd position with 97,944 listings.
3. South Carolina ranks 3rd with 22,633 listings.
4. North Carolina has 44,922 listings, ranking 4th.
5. The last on our list is California, ranking 5th with 66,813 listings.

Bonus stat: In terms of the highest proportion of smart home listings per 1000 listings, the top 5 states are Iowa, South Carolina, Louisiana, Indiana, and North Carolina in that order.

3. State With Highest Dependence on Online Shopping

Online shopping is an indicator of people’s overdependence on the internet, even for their shopping needs. Which state has the most internet shoppers in the US? According to PCMag:

1. California tops the list with 56.5% of the population shopping online.
2. Washington comes in second with 55.3%.
3. Massachusetts has 54.7%.
4. 4th on the list is the District of Columbia with 53.4%
5. Lastly on the list is Virginia with 53%.

Bonus: States with the least online shopping addiction are Wyoming at 38%, Mississippi at 39.1%, Louisiana at 39.8%, Arkansas at 40%, and South Dakota at 40.1%.

4. States With The Highest Social Media Addiction

The states that have the largest presence across the top 6 social platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Snapchat are:

1. Kentucky: Each resident has an average followership of 2,368 across the top six social
2. Tennessee closes in with an average of 2,281 social followers.
3. The 3rd position goes to California with an average of 2,135 followers.

Bonus: In terms of the number of social media users on each top network:

1. Facebook: California leads with 19million+ users
2. Instagram: Tennessee ranks highest, averaging 1,511 followers per user.
3. Twitter: Oregon leads with an average of 785 followers per resident, which is significantly higher than the national average of 186 followers.
4. LinkedIn: Connecticut takes the first position with 635 connections per resident on average.
5. Snapchat: Indiana.
6. TikTok: Kentucky.

5. YouTube Subscriptions

In terms of active YouTube monthly subscribers, the leading states are:

1. California, with 235 million active YouTube users every month.
2. Texas is second with 155 million
3. Coming in 3rd is Florida with 130 million active subscribers.
4. New York stands in the 4th position with 115 million active subscribers.
5. Last on our list is Pennsylvania with 70 million active subscribers.

6. Highest Cellphone Usage By State

To determine the monthly usage of cell phones, we examine the pertinent search volume for each state. How many people were active on search engines (e.g. Google) within a month? We take that figure and then calculate the averages per 100,000 residents. Here’s how the states rank:

1. Nevada: The average monthly search volume in Nevada is 462.56 per 100,000 residents.
2. Lousiana is close second with an average of 455.40
3. Georgia’s average monthly search volume of 442.54 puts it in the 3rd position.

States with the least cellphone usage are West Virginia (191.39 per 100,000 residents), South Dakota (213.23), and Wisconsin (214.17).

7. Online Gaming Per Capita

Gaming addicts come together to create online communities via tech devices such as computers, consoles, and smartphones. Per capita, which states have the biggest communities of internet gamers?

1. Maryland with 385 gaming meetup groups per 100,000 citizens.
2. New Jersey: 264 meetup groups
3. California’s: 15 gaming conventions and Comic-Con events combined.
4. Texas: Gaming conventions and Comic-Cons totaling to 11.

8. States Most Obsessed With Streaming Services

At least 75% of U.S. households have at least one streaming service subscription. Netflix and Hulu are some of the streaming services that have dominated the American online streaming market. But which state is streaming more than the rest?

1. West Virginia with an average of 4 hours and 31 minutes of streaming time.
2. Delaware is second with an average of 3 hours 47 minutes.
3. Louisiana, averaging 3 hours and 41 minutes.
4. Oklahoma with a 3 hours 36 minutes average
5. Nevada with an average of 3 hours and 34 minutes.