Study: 90% of younger set watching online video

In the vein of 'everyone is doing it - and so am I', research from Pew's Internet and American Life Project finds that 90% of young adults are watching videos and/or using video sharing websites. The study finds that 35% of all online consumers are now watching online video content.

by Kristina Knight

In 2007, less than 20% of consumers reported watching or downloading video content from the web. Video isn't the only entertainment form increasing its online presence. In addition to watching videos, consumers are now downloading podcasts (19%) and using micro-blogging sites such as Twitter (11%) , with younger viewers, listeners and bloggers leading the way in all categories.

For video, here are some breakdowns. For younger online consumers (aged 18 - 29) 90% are using video sharing sites such as YouTube or Hulu with 36% watching on a daily basis. For adults aged 30 - 49 67% are now using video sharing sites. Of those over age 50 only about 41% are watching online clips and only about 27% of those over age 65% are doing so; from this, you can see how many more younger consumers are logging on for this type of entertainment.

According to research from Nielsen Online the video audience can't get enough. From June 2008 to June 2009 year over year visits to online video hubs increased by 34%, with unique visitors increasing by more than 10% and total streams increasing by one-third. Consumers are also watching more video streams individually (19% increase) and spending more time watching clips (188 minutes, 36% increase).

Tags: Nielsen Online, online video, Pew Research, video advertising, video content, video viewers