Internet draws youth away from TV

That's the title of an article that appeared in The Hindustan Times dated Nov 17.They have quoted MediaScope, an annual media survey that is done in 11 West European countries for the European Interactive Advertising Association by market research agency Synovate.

Key trends from the survey :

1. Almost 6 out of 10 (169 million ) West Europeans now regularly access the Internet.
2. 8 out of 10 Internet users now use a broadband connection.
3. A user spends on an average about 12 hours a week online.
4. Among young people (16-24 year olds):
- For the first time, they are more likely to go online for most days of the week than turn on the television. 82% use Internet at least 5 days a week while only 77% use TV for the same period.
- Average use of Internet per week is 14.7 hours, or 10% than the average use of TV of 13.4 hours per week.
5. Internet consumption is fast increasing among all demographics, the +55 age group and women in particular.
6. 42% of all Internet users now use social networking, making it the third most important application after search (87%) and email (81%). Very interesting.
7. The number of people watching TV, film or video clips is only 30% of all users but has grown 150% since 2006. Another killer application here.
TV Advertising will move to video & rich media ads online big time, considering the 80% + broadband penetration.
8. Over a quarter (27%) of Internet users post on rating & review sites, a growth of 42% over previous year 2006. A similar number viz. 26% post on forums. Social media is big.
9. The most commonly visited sites (% of all Internet users who visit at least once a month) were:
News 65%, Local information (52%), Travel (51%) and Banking & Finance (50%).

The contrast with India is of course stark, one source for India data is the annual I-Cube study by IMRB. Here is the executive summary of their 2006 report.

More on trends of Internet usage in India and other countries in subsequent posts.