Internet users will consume 1.2m petabytes a year by 2015

No sign of a slowdown in staring blankly at screens.

According to Informa, the uploading and downloading of data will increase around seven times from 2010 to 2015. 

Video services like BBC iPlayer and Netflix will account for over half of all traffic by then.

But online storage and back-up services such as Rapidshare and Dropbox will also contribute significantly.

Geographically, the focus is shifting east, with Asia Pacific’s share increased to 42 per cent of global Internet traffic.

“Much of the hype about Internet traffic growth continues to come from the US and Silicon Valley, but it is the Asian Internet users that are generating the most traffic. This will only become pronounced over the next few years, as the region’s Internet penetration grows”, said Giles Cottle, Senior Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.