For Media Use, Online tops off (Globally)

A major new study on media use from GlobalWebIndex (32,000 Internet users from 31 countries) has found that consumers spend more time with online media than is spent with more traditional (offline) media sources - at least in 23 of the 31 major media markets.  Globally, if one includes social media and mobile internet usage, 57% of daily media time is spent with online sources.  Traditional media use is highest in "mature" media markets, while online usage is highest in emerging areas such as UAE, China, Brazil, Turkey, and Malaysia.
  Before you read too much into these numbers, let me note that the sample, while large, is of Internet users only, and is not random.  Thus, you should exercise some care in generalizing from the results of this particular sample.

Other interesting findings include -

• TV remains the most popular media, with an average of about 2 1/2 hours of viewing daily.  TV viewing is highest in the U.S. (averaging 4.7 hours of daily viewing).
• News is the type of content most likely to be sourced online
• Japan and South Korea users spend the least total time on daily media consumption.
• Chinese users, on average, spent only 35% of daily media time with traditional (offline) media
• Globally, social media use accounts for nearly half (48%) of online media time.  Consumers in the Philippines reported spending an average of 5.4 hours a day with online social media.
• In some markets, mobile accounts for 30% of daily media use
• The vast majority of users report multitasking with other media while watching TV

It should also be no surprise that the shift to online sources is lead by younger users.

What is a bit of a surprise is that there seems to be a link between Social Engagement (measured via a Social Engagement Benchmark measure) and the amount of time spent consuming online media.  That's something worth exploring further.

Source -  Online time now exceeds offline media consumption globally, GlobalWebIndex press release