Kids like the internet. What the telephone was to past generations for social networking, the internet and wireless is to this generation. And while internet usage is growing, I don't necessarily believe it is a zero sum game, where tv viewership needs to decline as a result. Kids have become increasingly masterful at multi-tasking, watching on one medium as they simultaneously surf on the other. But we did it too, watching TV as we did our homework.
So the data may suggest..."For children ages 10 to 14 who use the Internet, the computer is a bigger draw than the TV set, according to a study recently released by DoubleClick Performics, a search marketing company." But is their really a high correlation? I also believe that the internet remains the hot new toy these days. Its the superhighway that allows us easy access to content, research, information and all kinds of stuff. We can rent or buy, consume to our hearts content. And there appears to be a lot of risk taking on the web. From gaming to user generated videos, it is all new, exciting, and still somewhat unknown.
With the exception of the Olympics on TV the past 2 weeks, linear television viewing has been a bore. Yes, the Fall TV season is fast approaching, but there are few shows generating buzz and nothing exciting to capture on the DVR. Blame the writers strike on some of that problem. So far 2008 has been a bust for TV programming. Until broadcasters start to take some risks, we will continue to see a dumbing down of programming and more reason to escape to other media choices. Perhaps that is the real reason viewership is declining and why children are gravitating more to the internet.
