Web browsing beats page-turning

Broadband internet users spend more time online

Europeans now spend more of their week online than they do reading newspapers or magazines, according to a report.

A Jupiter Research study of 5,000 people in western Europe found that time spent online has doubled to four hours a week in the past three years.

However, the study found that new media was not cannibalising print and TV.

Print consumption had stayed at its 2003 level of three hours per week, while TV usage had risen from 10 hours to 12 hours.

Landmark

"The fact that internet consumption has passed print consumption is an important landmark for the establishment of the internet in the European media mix," said Jupiter Research director Mark Mulligan.

"This shift in the balance of power will increasingly shape content distribution strategies, advertising spend allocation and communication strategies in the European media."

The research also confirmed some well-established trends.

It found that 15-24 year-olds spend most time online, with the figure gradually declining with age.

The opposite is true for traditional print media, where time spent reading papers and magazines peaks with those over 65 years-old, and falls as people get younger.

Jupiter also found that broadband users spend more than three times as many hours a week online as dial-up users.

France, which has the highest rate of broadband access, has the highest average number of hours spent online per week.

The study surveyed people in UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.