Educated, Affluent and Hispanics Flock Online

A survey measured media use among specific demographic groups and revealed a trend toward  increased use of online sources for news and information among the college educated, Hispanics and those making more than $100K per year, compared with the general population.

Not surprisingly, the research also found that the younger the respondent, the more reliant that person was on online sources.

Key demographic differences:

• Respondents with household incomes of $100K or more receive considerably more news and information from online sources (23.1% vs. 14.6% for the general population).
• College grads report using online sources more frequently (20.0%).
• Adults ages 18-34 report the highest reliance on online sources (22.2%).
• Hispanics are more likely to prefer online sources (21.0%).

“The data showing an increase in online use and drop in daily newspaper consumption echoes what we’re hearing from consumers and media partners,” according to the research company. “Consumers want more of their information online.”

Other survey findings:

• College grads are more likely to trust online news (giving online a 6.3 rating vs. the 5.7 rating by the general population), and are less likely to trust TV news (giving TV a 6.1 rating vs. the 6.5 rating by the general population).
• Respondents with annual household incomes of $100K and above trust online sources considerably more than the general population (giving online a 6.5 rating, compared with the 5.7 rating by the general population).
• Higher-income respondents also view daily newspapers as more credible (6.8 vs. the 6.3 overall rating).

About the survey:  The survey was conducted with 1,000 US adults, ages 18+. It was conducted by phone September 10-13, 2009. ARAnet. Educated, Affluent and Hispanics Flock Online

you and i are more than friends