Americans Spent As Much Time On The Internet As They Did On Television In 2010

Newspapers are not dead, despite every effort by many (including newspaper publishers) to kill them. That may have been the biggest surprise in a recent report by Forrester regarding the way Americans spend their media-consumption time during the last 6 years.

For the first time ever, Internet usage equaled television watching with 121% increase since 2005. The numbers may be slightly inaccurate as the increased use of television-based Internet consumption may have confused people. There is a chance that Internet usage exceeded true television watching.

Television for its part also saw an increase from 2009, again with the possibility that the numbers are slightly skewed. If someone uses a television to surf the Internet, they technically aren’t spending time watching television. Semantics.

The study titled Understanding The Changing Needs Of The US Online Consumer, 2010 is available for purchase. If you do not want to spend $499 for it, here are some of the highlights:

• Older generations are joining the younger generations in dramatically increasing the time they spend online.
• While Internet usage goes up and television usage remains steady, radio, newspapers, and magazines show a steady decline.
• The number of people shopping online has nearly doubled since 2007.
• Mobile Internet adoption continues to skyrocket and shows no signs of slowing down.

As Americans become more connected, old forms of continue the appeals process before taking the long walk to the gas chamber. What will 2011 bring? We’re about to find out.