Internet and TV Dominate Youth Tech Time

Edison Research finds that media consumption habits have changed with Internet, phone and radio increasing most, and TV, video games and movies decreasing most.

During an average day, Americans age 12-24 spend two hours and 52 minutes on the Internet, making the web the media format American young adults spend the most time consuming. Television closely follows with a daily average of two hours and 47 minutes. Listening to the radio came in a distant third with a one hour and 24 minute daily average. With a daily average of one hour and 10 minutes, video games closely trailed radio, followed by talking on the telephone (one hour and four minutes). Time spent reading magazines and newspapers is negligible.

More than four in five 12-24s own a mobile phone in 2010 (up from only 29% in 2000), and these young Americans are using these phones as media convergence devices:

• 50% of younger mobile phone users have played games on their phones
• 45% have accessed social networking sites
• 40% have used their phones to listen to music stored on their phones

In 2000, 44% of 12-24s most often began their day by listening to the radio. Today, radio continues to lead, with 29% of that same cohort (today's 22-34 year-olds) reporting that radio is the medium they use most in the morning, while Television (25%) and the Internet (23%) have gained significantly.