Canadian youth are now spending more time surfing the Internet than vegging in front of the TV, an Ipsos-Reid poll released Tuesday says.
For the first time since data have been collected on the subject, Canadians between the age of 18 and 34 are spending more time on the Internet than any other media.
According to Ipsos-Reid, young Canadians spend on average 14.7 hours a week on the net, 11.7 hours a week listening to the radio, slightly less time – 11.6 hours – in front of the TV and 2.5 hours reading the newspaper.
The 18-to-34 crowd, which is considered to have the largest disposable income, is major target for advertisers.
“This change in media consumption has significant implications for advertisers and marketers,” said Catherine Rogers, a senior research manager with Ipsos-Reid. “Any advertiser looking at this demographic should be reevaluating their marketing strategies, if they haven't already.”
The spike in Internet use among that target demographic does not surprise Brent Lowe-Bernie, Chairman of the Interactive Advertisement Bureau of Canada. Mr. Lowe-Bernie has been working with advertisers to show them how they can use the medium more efficiently, because of many of them see the Internet as the way of the future, he said.
Mr. Lowe-Bernie estimates that in 2005 more than $400-million will be spent on Internet advertising in Canada, up by nearly 60 per cent since 2003.
“It's not surprising at all. There has been flow of advertising funds from television advertising into the Internet,” according to Bob Reaume, vice-president of policy and research at the Association of Canadian Advertisers.
Mr. Reaume said the amount of advertising on television is leading to high avoidance levels, which has been exacerbated by the uptake of more digital recording devices, that allow viewers to skip over commercials. All this is much to the chagrin of advertisers.
“Too much clutter on television, leads to avoidance,” Mr. Reaume said. “Advertisers are starting to realize they need to use the television medium better or direct the money elsewhere.”
Young Canadians were just part of a larger trend in the country toward increased Internet use. On average, Canadians are using the Internet 12.7 hours a week, which represents a 46-per-cent increase since 2002.
Although younger Canadians have turned away, television retains the No. 1 overall position for media consumption among all age groups at 14.3 hours a week. The report suggests, however, that if the trend continues, Internet use is likely to surpass television in the coming years.
The gap between hours spent in front of the television as opposed to the Internet has dropped to 1.6 hours from 4.5 hours a week only three years ago.
These trends are changing the way Canadians get their news, the report says.
The Internet in Canada is most commonly used for “niche news,” such as health trends, travel information or guides, but Canadians still tend to turn to television for national and international news and weather.
Despite a growing trend toward Internet news in Canada, no particular news Web site has emerged as a national leader, the report found. Although Canadians named several news sites they regularly visited, the report suggests that Internet news is still fragmented in the country, leaving room for a national news and information site to capture the market, the report states.
“Traditional sources for news and information are facing stiff competition from the Internet, as seen by the high growth of Internet use compared to other traditional media,” Ms. Rogers said in the report. “In order to combat this growing threat, traditional media must continue to find innovative ways to use the Internet as a complement to their total offering.”
