Canadians spent an average of 18.1 hours per week online compared with 16.9 hours watching television, an Ipsos Reid survey found. The most frequent users of the internet were people age 18 to 34.For the first time, Canadians are spending more time in front of computer screens than television sets.

Tracking data from research company Ipsos Reid shows Canadians spend an average of 18.1 hours per week online compared with 16.9 hours watching television.

However, the growth in online viewing doesn't come at the expense of television. Weekly TV viewing increased by an hour while time spent online jumped by three hours from fall 2008 to mid March 2009.

The Ipsos data shows men spent 20 hours per week online compared with 16 hours for women. Overall, people age 18 to 34 accounted for the highest online rates, at 20 hours per week, with those over 35 spending 18 hours per week online.

"Today, online, Canadians are finding a myriad of entertainment options available to them within the walls of their homes," said Ipsos Reid associate vice-president Mark Laver.

"While some entertainment content has simply shifted from television to online, the internet is also providing new content to Canadians."

Hours spent with media

Ipsos Reid polled Canadians in mid-March to get a snapshot of media habits. These are the average results for the hours spent on different activities:

  • Actively using the internet: 18.1 hours/week.
  • Watching television: 16.9 hours/week.
  • Listening to radio: 8.9 hours/week.
  • Reading newspapers: 2.9 hours/week.
  • Reading magazines: 1.4 hours/week.

Source: Ipsos Reid

A separate study by Solution Research Group found many Canadians are turning from television to the internet to watch their favourite shows. According to its Digital Life Canada Study, 50 per cent of Canadians have viewed TV online, and 25 per cent said they had done so in the week prior to the study.

Laver says he sees a shift in how Canadians consume content and media.

"The future of television is still going to be there, the big challenge on the internet is getting people to pay for it," he said.

He believes if people shift their viewing habits en masse from TV to online, television production will be in trouble. The internet doesn't have enough advertising revenue to create the high-quality series produced by television networks, so there's less money to create content, he said.

According to the International Telecommunications Union's latest figures, 84.3 per cent of Canadians used the internet in 2008, more than double the number of users in 2000.