Internet now “more essential” to Americans than TV

from www.radio-info.com:

Internet now “more essential” to Americans than TV, says new Arbitron/Edison study

“For the first time more people would choose to eliminate television from their lives than the Internet, if they were forced to choose.” That’s the bottom line of a new study from Arbitron and Edison Research. It’s still close – 49% to 48%. But Edison’s Larry Rosin says “when we first asked this question in 2001, the spread was 72% for eliminating Internet and 26% for eliminating television.

The shift over these nine years has been steady and profound.” Arbitron’s Bill Rose says the Internet/TV gap is “much greater” when the focus is on those under age 45. This is the 18th cooperative study done by Arbitron and Edison since 1998 about the Internet and new media.

The latest “Infinite Dial” national survey covered 1,753 persons aged 12+.