Time spent on digital media to overtake TV in the UK

The amount of time UK adults spend accessing digital media is forecast to surpass hours spent watching television for the first time this year -- reflecting big changes in consumer habits.

The average adult will spend 3 hours 41 minutes a day consuming digital media through computers, tablets and mobile phones in 2014, an increase of 34 minutes from the previous year, according to new estimates from eMarketer, a research group. Meanwhile, the amount of time spent watching television will remain roughly the same at 3 hours 15 minutes. The rapid increase in digital media consumption -- which includes everything from playing games to checking emails to watching online video clips -- is largely driven by the rise of internet-connected mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets and feature phones.