A recent survey has shown that 16-24 year olds use the internet more often than they watch TV – 82% use the internet between 5 and 7 days a week while only 77% watch TV as regularly (a decrease of 5% since last year). 48% of these youngsters have also admitted to watching less TV now because of the internet.

This study by the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) has come to prove how the internet is growing and becoming so popular amongst young audiences. This study has also  shown that internet users are spending on average 12 hours a week online, that is 1.7 hours each day.

Social networking websites such as Facebook and Bebo have also enjoyed an increase of 19% compared to last year, with 42% of  internet users visiting such sites. This has led to a decrease on e-mail usage, however, e-mailing is still the second most popular online activity amongst Europeans.

Source: www.eiaa.net

With Searching remaining the most popular activity more and more companies choose to optimise their websites for search engines since most people are directed to those through search engines. If you run a website this could be your golden opportunity!

The study by the EIAA has also attributed the increase of online users to broadband, which has come to increase the speed of connections, making it easy for users to watch and download online videos, hence the popularity of sites such as Youtube. Out of the 169 million people using the internet 8 out 10 are using broadband.

In all, 57% of Europeans now regularly access the internet  each week, that is 169 million users across the 10 major European markets. Alison Fennah, Executive Director of The EIAA has stated: “Our Mediascope study shows that consumers are using the internet for function and fun as their media world becomes truly digital. We hope to help advertisers and agencies to understand this evolution and develop new and innovative communication strategies.”