US adults who go online most frequently watch more television and read more newspapers, compared to their non-internet-using counterparts, disproving traditional industry opinion that the internet would cut into the time consumers spend with television and print media.
According to a recent Carat Insight analysis of data from Mediamark Research Inc and Multimedia Scan, adults who go online at least once a day watch 46 more minutes of television per day than those who use the internet less frequently.
The report, based on personal interviews and surveys of 23,000 US adults, was conducted over a period of several months between the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004. It found that 18% of the population went online at least once a day.
Rob Frydlewicz, vice president research director at Carat Insight, identifies the vast marketing potential for reaching online users from the findings, saying: “You can reach heavy internet users in places other than the internet.”
Heavy internet users were revealed to be far more likely to read magazines geared towards technology or computers than those who went online less than once a day, with daily users four times more likely to read Wired or Macworld magazine than less frequent users.
Daily web users were also found to be far more likely to read two or more daily and Sunday newspapers than people who went online less often.
Higher than average incomes is one explanation for overall higher media consumption, according to Frydlewicz. Those who go online at least once a day also tend to have larger incomes and higher education levels and this often goes hand in hand with heavy newspaper and magazine reading.
People with higher incomes are more likely to pay for cable television, translating into more hours spent consuming television, according to Frydlewicz.
A recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that respondents with higher household incomes are more likely to have MP3 players, with 24% of those with a household income of more than $75,000 owning a music device, compared to just 6% of those with a household income of up to $30,000 (see Internet Users More Likely To Own Music Players).
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