Internet users reading less print

Research by the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future suggests consumers are tending toward the Internet and online equivalents of printed publications for their reading material. Almost two-thirds of Internet users consider the Internet to be a very or extremely important source of information, up from 56 percent from 2005.

This trend away from traditional printed media is set to continue, found the survey, particularly with more and more content being offered free of charge.

While the amount of printed material read hasn’t dropped dramatically, from three-quarters to 70 percent over the last six years, the portion of it read online has risen from 19.3 percent to 23.2 percent last year. Just 6.7 percent said they spent more time reading print since connecting to the Internet.

“More than a decade after the portals of the Worldwide Web opened to the public, we are now witnessing the true emergence of the Internet as the powerful personal and social phenomenon we knew it would become,” said Jeffrey Cole, director of the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future.

Tags: hardcopy, online, print, survey