According to LiveRail, 18-to-24-year-old social network users are spending more time watching online video than ever.

In a Q4 2008 survey of more than 400 young adult social networkers, 53% said that in an average month they spent more time watching online video than traditional TV. Nineteen percent of respondents said they watched each “about the same,” and only 28% said they watched more TV than online video.

But does that mean that young people are starting to tune out their TVs? Probably not.

In a Nielsen survey conducted in Q3 2008, people of all ages said they spent vastly more time watching television than they did using the Internet, watching mobile video or viewing TV shows recorded on DVRs. However, 18-to-24-year-olds said they watched more online video than any other group.

A Starz Entertainment survey lends support to the Nielsen perspective, with 78% of teens reporting that they watched online video weekly, compared with 83% who said they watched TV every week.

In a Multichannel News article, Starz Entertainment executive director of marketing, sales and corporate research Neil Massey said, “There is no evidence that people are abandoning television for other platforms.” He continued to note that “the universe of people who watch no television but watch long-form video online is about 1%.”

Online video is hot, especially with young people. But not hot enough to melt the TV.

Source: http://www.emarketer.com/