New research from Roy Morgan reveals the majority of young Australians now consider the internet as a channel for entertainment rather than an information tool.
The research found that most Australians over the age of 14 agree that the internet is far more an information tool than an entertainment tool but among 14-24 year-olds, most now disagree with 52% seeing online as first and foremost a source for entertainment, up from 46% three years ago.
Nationally, just 31% of Australians rate the internet’s entertainment value at least on par with its use as an information resource, up from 29% in 2011.
The biggest change since 2011 is among 50-64 year-olds, who today are almost 30% more likely than they were then to say that the internet isn’t more about information than entertainment (22%, up from 17%).
Australians who consider internet at least as much an entertainment as information tool
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2010–June 2011 n = 15,483, July 2013 – June 2014 n = 14,827 Australians 14+ who have ever accessed the internet
Tim Martin, general manager – media, Roy Morgan Research, said: “Roy Morgan’s latest data shows that more than three quarters of 14-24 year-olds now engage in one or more entertainment activities online in an average month. More than half of 14-24 year olds have streamed video from services like YouTube, over a third have downloaded or streamed music from services like Pandora and Spotify, and over a quarter have downloaded games from services like Google Play
“Clearly, internet attitudes relate closely to what we most use the internet for. Our data shows that the older generations use the internet more for things like searching for jobs, real estate, comparing banking and finance products, and as a source for travel and health information.
“That said, this research also shows that an increasing proportion of people aged 35-64 think of the internet less as a ‘superhighway’ to get information and more as a channel for entertainment.”
