• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, May 22, 2001

A recent study by Scarborough Research, reported by Melena Ryzik at Internet World, finds that increased Internet usage is linked to a decline in the consumption of traditional media.

A significant number of active Internet users reported that the Internet had changed their habits, although a majority of online users did not alter their traditional media consumption (or weren't sure.)

- 23 % of online consumers watched less TV
- 20 % read fewer magazines
- 15 % noted a decline in newspaper reading

The definition of an active user by Scarborough, in selecting a sample of 2000 users, was those that had been online in the past 30 days. This represented almost 48% of American adults, with more than half of that community having three or more years experience online.

- 51 % of the respondents to the study spend five or more hours online in an average week,
- 26 % spend 10 or more hours a week online

Mark Crispin Miller, a professor of media studies at New York University, suggests that "As more and more people engage simultaneously in several media experiences, advertising will become even trashier," he said. "The fare will become even more salacious."

Perhaps just one man’s opinion!

Read more here at internetworld.com.