Internet Supplants TV As Teen Media Hub

Studies

from the this-is-a-surprise? dept

I’m a little surprised it’s taken this long, but the latest study says that the internet has surpassed TV in terms of overall time spent for teens and young adults. The study found that the average teen spends 16.7 hours online per week – and that’s not counting email. It’s unclear if it includes IM, though. Meanwhile, they spend 13.6 hours watching TV, 12 hours listening to the radio, 7 hours on the phone, and 6 hours reading for pleasure (books and magazines). Of course, there’s no indication of whether or not they accounted for overlap. You can be on the phone, surfing the web, and listening to the radio all at the same time, among other combinations. Not surprisingly, the study found that kids like going online because they have the control to manage the experience – which is probably what scares the entertainment industry the most. They’re only used to dealing with entertainment media where people are “consumers” and not when they’re in control and actually a part of the process.