England: New generation changes media consumption

As a study by the British regulatory authority Ofcom Office of Communications shows, the young generation of 16 to 24-year-olds is bringing about a significant change in media consumption. There is a clear difference in media behavior between young adults and the rest of the population: The younger generation spends a total of 3 hours per week on the Internet, 21 minutes longer than the population as a whole; young people send 42 more text messages per week, but spend over 7 hours less in front of the TV each week. However, according to the study, when they do watch TV, they are more likely to switch on private digital channels than public television.
The younger generation adopts new technologies many times faster than the rest of the population.70 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds have experience with social networking sites such as Myspace.com (total population 41 percent). One in five young adults has their own website or weblog.

The shift away from traditional media not only affects television, but also radio, newspapers and magazines. The study emphasizes the strong influence of these results on media authorities, the public and politics. According to Ofcom, it is now necessary to find out how to deal with these changes. One thing in particular needs to be considered: This age group is changing its consumer behavior much faster than other generations.