Buffering internet has been ranked among the most annoying everyday delays in an ‘impatient nation’ study. A poll of 3,000 adults uncovered that a fifth – the equivalent to 10.7 million Brits – consider themselves impatient. This comes as almost two in ten (19 per cent) blame social media for their lack of patience, with a further four in ten (40 per cent) citing advancement of technology.
The research, commissioned by Sky Broadband, revealed that just over a quarter (27 per cent) of Brits will only wait for a maximum of three minutes when faced with a delay of any kind.
When it comes to waiting for something to load online, almost a third (32 per cent) of Brits admit to not being able to wait a single minute before losing their patience, and 12 minutes is the average amount of time people are willing to wait for public transport delays.
Having already improved the nation’s second biggest frustration, slow internet, Sky Broadband is now helping Brits speed up other areas of daily life. As part of a new trial in Leeds and Glasgow, new ‘Fast Lanes’ have been introduced on busy pedestrian streets.
Dubbed the ‘Sky Fast Lanes’, the lanes feature speed icons, run for 50 metres and are 2.2 metres wide. They mark the arrival of what Sky says is “the fastest broadband speeds from any major provider in the UK”, all in a bid to give busy Brits a high-speed commute and avoid slow walkers.
Top 10 things that frustrate impatient Brits
Transport delays (e.g. plane, train, bus delays) – 42%
Slow or buffering internet – 41%
Slow or bad drivers – 37%
Slow service (in any capacity) – 34%
Slow walkers – 33%
Queuing – 33%
Pedestrian traffic (e.g. people taking up the whole path or someone stopping in the middle of a path) – 29%
Waiting for or missing a delivery – 28%
Film or TV show buffering part way through – 25%
Waiting for something to download or update – 25%
Generation X have emerged as the most impatient generation (24 per cent), meanwhile, three-quarters of Gen Z claim to have a zen-like patience. Despite this, however, Brits generally agreed that Gen Z gets their patience tested the most often, citing on average four delays a day in comparison to Millennials and Gen X who experience three and Boomers who experience a mere two delays per day.
Gen Z, facing more delays than any other generation, are relying on sneaky time-saving hacks such as using AI platforms (36 per cent), going to a self-checkout rather than queueing for a cashier (41 per cent), using mobile data instead of sorting out slow internet speed (48 per cent). Two in five even admitted to watching videos on 2x speed (42 per cent).
Ben Case, Managing Director of Connectivity at Sky, said: “From slow walkers to traffic jams, delays are part of everyday life. With Sky Broadband Gigafast+ now offering the fastest speeds from any major provider in the UK, we’re launching ‘Fast Lanes’ to speed up more than just broadband, helping commuters reclaim their time and keep life moving frustration-free.”
The ‘Fast Lanes’ celebrate the launch of Sky’s new Full Fibre 2.5 Gigafast+ and Full Fibre 5 Gigafast+ packages. The speeds will be delivered by the new Gigafast+ hub, Sky’s most advanced yet, to power the demands of a modern home, from remote working and 4K streaming to gaming.