Adults now are spending more time with the Internet than radio in the United States, according to The Media Audit, which reviewed findings of a recent report.
It found U.S. adults spend an average of 3 hours 17 minutes per day online, compared to 2 hours 2 minutes per day a year ago, a 62% increase, thus the Internet represents 29% of the typical media day for U.S. adults.
The average adult spends 160 minutes per day listening to radio, or 2 hours 40 minutes, unchanged from the previous year. The company also said about 14% of adults visit a radio Web site in a typical 30-day period, many of whom are likely streaming radio content.
Adults continue to spend the most amount of time watching television, 222 minutes per day, or 3 hours 42 minutes, flat since the previous year. Television as a percent of the total media day has shrunk from 36.5% in 2006 to 32.7% in 2007.
“The Internet’s explosive growth has yet to show any signs of slowing,” according to the company. “Last August, The Media Audit reported a 78% increase in Internet usage between 2005 and 2006 when U.S. adults increased daily usage from a mere 69 minutes per day to 122 minutes. At that time in 2005, the Internet represented only 12.3% of the typical media day for U.S. adults and grew to 20% in 2006.”
Radio represents 23.5% of the typical media day for U.S. adults, down from 26.8% in 2006, while newspaper represents 7% (down slightly from 7.7%) and outdoor represents 7.9% (down from 9%).
The average time on the Internet among Hispanics is now 203 minutes per day, which exceeds the average for U.S. adults, an 81% increase since 2006. The average time spent on the Internet among African Americans is 226 minutes, also higher than the adult average, a 93% increase.
