Almost half of Filipino adults are internet users, according to the fourth quarter 2019 survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The results of the survey, conducted from December 13 to 16, 2019 released on Tuesday found that 45 percent before the COVID-19 outbreak, had internet access.

It also showed almost all or 98 percent or an estimated 29.4 million of adult internet users have Facebook accounts with one out of four reading the news daily on Facebook.

An earlier SWS survey showed that 24 percent of adult Filipinos or an estimated 15.7 million read the news daily on Facebook.

However, a majority 69 percent of adults or an estimated 45.8 million individuals still get their news daily through television. This was followed by 19 percent who do so through radio, and 1 percent who get their news through newspapers.

SWS said that the proportion of internet users in the country has been in a generally upward trend since June 2006.

It was at 8 percent when SWS first surveyed it in June 2006. It rose from September 2007 to December 2011, ranging from 11 to 19 percent, and from March 2012 to December 2017, ranging from 23 to 41 percent.

It has been 40 percent and above since March 2018, reaching as high as 47 percent in December 2018 and September 2019.

Since June 2006 also, internet use has always been highest in Metro Manila compared to Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. It has also been consistently higher in urban than in rural areas.

YouTube was the second most popular social media platform with 18 percent or an estimated 12.1 million individuals, followed by Instagram with 6 percent, Snapchat with 4 percent, Twitter with 3 percent, and Viber with 2 percent.

In terms of gadgets, 83 percent of Filipino households own at least one cellular phone, 79 percent own a television, 31 percent own a radio, and 14 percent own a personal computer.

The survey was conducted from December 13 to 16, 2019 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults.