WebProNews

Internet users are spending more time online than they are spending watching TV according to a new study by IDC.

The study found that Internet users spent 32.7 hours per week online and about half as much time watching television (16.4 hours). Time spent reading newspapers or magazines accounted for 3.9 hours per week, while overall time spent using all media was 70.6 hours.

"The time spent using the Internet will continue to increase at the expense of television and, to a lesser extent, print media," said Karsten Weide, program director, Digital Media and Entertainment at IDC. "This suggests that advertising budgets will continue to be shifted out of television, newspapers, and magazines into Internet advertising."

The study found that people are more likely to use the media they grew up with. The older the respondents, the more they watch TV, read newspapers and magazines; the younger they are, the more the Internet replaces usage of traditional media.

The most frequent online activities include using search engines (84% of respondents), followed by using navigation services (83%), personal research (77%), and using email (76%).

According to IDC the types of devices used to access the Internet will continue to diversify, and Internet usage will become more mobile.