Study Reports: More Internet Use = Less TV Watched

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041006-4279.html' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...41006-4279.html</a><br /><br /></div>The Digital Future Project of the University of Southern California has <a href="http://www.digitalcenter.org/downloads/DigitalFutureReport-Year4-2004.pdf">done a study</a> which examines trends in Internet usage and folk’s attitude to the web. The new look <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041006-4279.html">ArsTechnica</a> has gone through some of the figures and has posted about some of the conclusions of the study: <br /><br /><i>”Contrary to some beliefs about Internet users becoming increasingly isolated as it was assumed that they give up socializing to spend more time online, increased Internet usage actually comes at the expense of time spent in front of the boob tube. Those who have been online the longest end up watching less television than new users and nonusers. Internet users claim to spend the same amount of time with family and friends as they always have.”</i><br /><br />Headline figures are that 75% of Americans go online regularly and just over 50 percent of Net users believe that "most or all of the information online is reliable and accurate", which is scarily high. Apparently most Net users also don’t believe that the Internet has any influence on the amount of time they spend with their family or Friends. Like the Arsians, I find that one hard to believe. Anyone else here need to be crowbarred off the computer (especially when all the X50v reviews hit the web)? ;-)

[cribbagewiz]

I wonder if they take into consideration the growing number of people, such as myself, who have deployed WiFi in their homes so that they can move the computer to the den, thus allowing them to surf the Internet AND watch television at the same time.

I also wonder what the percentages would be for folks who have TV tuners in their PCs. Does it count if you are watching DVDs from your PC instead of on the television? Or are they just referring to broadcast/cable television? Seems like splitting hairs if they don't count watching DVDs.

[Talldog]

Haven't these guys ever heard of multitasking? I have a TV in the same room as my PC, and it's usually on while I'm surfing.

[wocket]

If there was anything interesting on i'd watch it. In the UK it seems to be all reality shows, soaps and repeats. :evil:

[Jonathon Watkins]

Haven't these guys ever heard of multitasking? I have a TV in the same room as my PC, and it's usually on while I'm surfing.

Not me. I either give all my attention to the TV, OR the Computer. Can't do both. Either, or. Even talk radio is a bit much if you need to get work done on the computer.

Can you honestly take in a full TV program while performing a complex task on the computer?

[Jonathon Watkins]

If there was anything interesting on i'd watch it. In the UK it seems to be all reality shows, soaps and repeats. :evil:

Bingo. I haven't watched TV now for over three weeks.

[gorkon280]

Frankly I don't care about the x50v reviews. It's a nice device alright, but, frankly, I have alot more important things to spend my money on then a marginal increase of what I already have.

Do I watch less TV or spend less time with my family due to the net? No. As I always say, a family spends time doing what they value. There are times when my wife is on the computer with my son and I am on my mac (and the TV is also runnning. I have my laptop with wifi on most of the time when I watch tv and I do what I like to call interactive TV. If I see a movie on and wonder who played X character and bam...look it up on IMDB.

I have a feeling 50 percent of the people trust what you see onlline because they trust the sites they go to. This also has a dangerous effect if your into something that is less then savory or dangerous. A story about how I what your doing is evil gets easily pushed aside for a website that promotes what your doing. The weak minded can easily be swayed on the net. It's even easier then watching a infomercial.

[bjornkeizers]

If there was anything interesting on i'd watch it. In the UK it seems to be all reality shows, soaps and repeats. :evil:

Bingo. I haven't watched TV now for over three weeks.

Same thing here. I only watch some very specific shows like CSI and the odd movie, but I'm not sitting in front of the TV with the remote, zapping for two hours a day. Most of the time I don't even watch the shows directly, I record them on my DVD recorder...

Games and internet are a lot more fun then TV these days. Everything on it is crap: reality shows, games, crap movies etc. Ever since I got the internet, I've been watching less and less every day.

[PPCRules]

Anyone else here need to be crowbarred off the computer (especially when all the X50v reviews hit the web)? ;-)
Who? Me?

[Steven Cedrone]

I actually went so far as to remove the TV from my bedroom. Not only was I wasting too much time with the "crap" that was on (or more importantly, trying to sift through it), but the pile of books I had waiting to be read (both ebook and paper) was piling up and being neglected. Now I do a quick turn on the 'Net and then read before going to bed...

Much better! :wink:

Steve

[Sven Johannsen]

The Digital Future Project of the University of Southern California has done a study (http://www.digitalcenter.org/downloads/DigitalFutureReport-Year4-2004.pdf) .....Internet users claim to spend the same amount of time with family and friends as they always have.”

Which was minimal for real geeks even before the internet ;)

[axe]

wocket wrote:
If there was anything interesting on i'd watch it. In the UK it seems to be all reality shows, soaps and repeats.



Bingo. I haven't watched TV now for over three weeks.



Same thing here. I only watch some very specific shows like CSI and the odd movie, but I'm not sitting in front of the TV with the remote, zapping for two hours a day. Most of the time I don't even watch the shows directly, I record them on my DVD recorder...

Games and internet are a lot more fun then TV these days. Everything on it is crap: reality shows, games, crap movies etc. Ever since I got the internet, I've been watching less and less every day.

I am the same way. I only watch a couple of individual shows, a few movies, but no reality if it can be avoided... Not easy now adays though. Even 200 channels of digital TV hasn't provided decent shows! Now Movies and commercials are getting into the reality bit too. Since there's nothing good on TV, I resort to the Net!

AXE

[Jonathon Watkins]

The Digital Future Project of the University of Southern California has done a study (http://www.digitalcenter.org/downloads/DigitalFutureReport-Year4-2004.pdf) .....Internet users claim to spend the same amount of time with family and friends as they always have.”

Which was minimal for real geeks even before the internet ;)

Harsh, but .... True. :lol:

[dammitjim]

I'll be honest... I'm cheap! So, since the internet is such a useful tool, I have cut my cable subscription. I spend more time on the computer reading or watching stream videos or even movies on it. Regular TV is alright... Since my laptop screen is only 15", I went ahead and connected a workstation to my 28" TV as a monitor and sometimes watch live stream video from different internet sites (that broadcast on cable stations). I don't know if I ended up mixing up the topic 8O