Youths Spending More Time Away From Radio.

Bridge Ratings & Research recently concluded the first phase of its study on the media habits of 15-24 year olds and has confirmed initial perceptions that young people are spending less time listening to the radio as a result of using the Internet.

The study conducted during the second quarter of 2005 and completed June 20th, 2005 found that 22% of 15-24 year olds are listening to less radio as a result of their time on the Internet, while over two-thirds (67%) are spending the same amount of time.

Other findings of the study include: a third of those questioned are spending less time reading books and newspapers, opting to consume their information over the Internet.

The study also found that young people are spending almost a third of their total media time (32%) online, more than watching television (30%), listening to the radio (27%) and reading magazines or newspapers (11%). In comparison, the average U.S. citizen spends, 22% of their media activity with the Internet.

The study revealed that music dominates online activity for this age group with the Internet providing a cheaper and more convenient means of purchasing and downloading tracks. 27% of 15-24 year olds are now buying music online compared to 18% one year ago. 38% of this age group still visit and purchase traditional brick and mortar music stores, up from 31% a year ago.

Almost half of those questioned (47%) are prepared to pay for music download services, 49% prefer free downloads and 56% of youths in this age group listen to music online or through a digital music player (MP3) device now instead of elsewhere.

Gaming is also a popular online activity for this group. A quarter (24%) are willing to pay for online gaming services, 33% prefer sharing free games and 42% had visited a games web site within the past 7 days.

More than half (58%) spend time using on-line instant messaging applications to communicate with friends over the Internet. More than a third (38%) admit to talking less on the phone now that they are online.

To view charts CLICK above on “More Images’.

The study used a sample of 2800 people aged 15-24 years in Dallas, Washington, DC, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland (OR) and St. Louis (MO).