The Courier Mail has reported that Australians now spend much more time online. The news come from Nielsen Online’s Internet and Technology Survey of more than 2000 Australians and found that :
- Australians spent an average of 89.2 hours a week consuming media
- which is equivalent to 80% of waking hours – which is possible as people multi-consume different media at the same time
- 16.1 of those hours are spent on the Internet
- 12.9 hours watching tv
- 8.8 hours listening to the radio
- 3.7 hours on a mobile phone
- 2.8 hours reading newspapers
Interestingly it doesn’t describe how many of these activities overlap – ie. accessing the internet from your mobile phone or accessing TV shows, radio stations or reading newspapers online.
The figures showed an increase of 5 hours per week from 2007 results and 17.8 hours from 2006.
So Australian are spending more time with media – including the internet. Makes it more important than ever that libraries are meeting them there.
Feed
March 25, 2009 at 22:36
That’s a lot of time watching television and being on the Internet!
March 26, 2009 at 07:36
Interesting facts, I’d love to see the data concerning the U.S. next time. Online is the only way to go these days!
Lauren Reagan
March 28, 2009 at 09:06
I’d like to see more books available to read online for free and I wonder if the libraries can accommodate that somehow.
March 29, 2009 at 12:35
Libraries are providing more electronic books. Some of these are in text format and some are in audio format. Some are available online, others need to be downloaded to a computer or in the case of audio books to portable audio device like an ipod. Academic libraries provide free (for staff and students) access to collections like ebrary, books24x7 and Safari books. Many public libraries also provide free (to members) access to these sorts of collections. One example is Overdrive. Ask a librarian near you what is available for you and the best way to access them. If you are in Australia, you should also visit the National Library of Australia’s site and your state library’s website to find out about how you can get free access to their electronic resources.
March 30, 2009 at 05:54
That’s a lot of time to be watching television and being on the Internet! I hope it’s mostly learning things, and not just entertainment!
March 31, 2009 at 20:09
I wonder how much of that internet time is spent as a consumer and how much as a producer? I’m guessing they didn’t ask that, but it would be interesting to track the growth.