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Internet users use other media too

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There are only 24 hours in a day, but heavy Internet users still manage to fit traditional media—watching television and reading books, magazines and newspapers—into their day.

Canadians’ activities were surveyed during the course of a day in 2005. It found that we spend 150 minutes of a typical day consuming traditional media, with television taking up the lion’s share of that time.

Heavy Internet users (those logging more than 60 minutes a day for personal use) watch as much television as those not using the Internet: an average 121 minutes a day versus 125 minutes a day. This similarity questions the extent to which Internet users consider the Internet a replacement for television, or simply another form of information and entertainment. Heavy Internet users actually averaged 152 minutes a day of leisure time online in 2005.

Internet users are avid consumers of other media, including printed materials. They tend to spend slightly more time during the day reading books than non-users, and also tend to read books and magazines with greater frequency. Non-Internet users, though, are just as likely to be regular newspaper readers as Internet users are.

As well as reading more, Internet users are more likely to go to the movies or watch rented or purchased movies at home on a regular basis. Internet users are also keen about music: 51% listen to music they downloaded on their computer at least once a week.

They are also more likely than non-Internet users to listen to music CDs, DVDs, cassettes and records.

Non-users of the Internet are more likely to say that they never read books or magazines, or watch films.