New research reveals that 62% of US adult internet users have watched online video on a video-sharing website, up from 33% in 2006.
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life project also found that 19% of US online adults use video-sharing sites on a typical day (compared with 8% in 2006).
The April 2009 survey said that video watching among American young adults is near-universal, with nine in 10 (89%) internet users ages 18-29 now saying they view content on video-sharing sites (up from 72% in 2008), and 36% do so on a typical day.
Online video viewing has grown across all age groups, the study found. Young adults continue to lead the adoption curve in online video viewing, though adults ages 30-49 also showed big gains over the past year; 67% now use video-sharing sites, up from 57% in 2008.
Among internet users ages 50-64, 41% now say they watch video on sites such as YouTube, up from 34% in 2008. Likewise, 27% of wired seniors ages 65+ now access video on these sites, compared with just 19% last year.
The share of online women who visit video-sharing sites has grown from 46% in 2008 to 59%, Pew said. This compares with 57% of male internet users who reported online video viewing in 2008 and 65% in 2009.
Recent research from ChangeWave showed that US baby boomers are spending more free time online (12.9 hours per week on average) than they are watching traditional TV (11.8 hours per week on average) (see Shift in US baby boomers’ TV habits).
Elsewhere, Magna forecast that the US market for online video will grow by 32% this year, rising from $531 million in 2008 to $699 million in 2009 (see US market for online video forecast to grow 32% this year).
