Watching Videos On The Web More Popular Than Twitter

Watching video online isn't just for college kids anymore and is being adopted more rapidly than Twitter, a new study reveals. The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that the majority of adult Internet users use the Web to watch or download video.

The July study by Pew Internet found that video sharing sites are growing rapidly across all demographics. Sites like YouTube and Google Video have been the biggest beneficiaries, with Pew Internet finding that 62 percent of adult Internet users having watched a video on one of those sites, up from 33 percent in December 2006.

For the 18- to 29-year-old demographic, Pew Internet found that watching video online is "near-universal" with 89 percent, or nine in 10 users, saying they consume video content on sites like YouTube. Furthermore, fully one-third -- 36 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds -- watch video on a typical day.

"Over time, online video has become more deeply integrated into daily life and has started to move into the spaces that are typically reserved for traditional television viewing," the Pew Internet study reports.

In addition, the traffic and use of video sharing sites outpace any other activity happening on the Web -- including the use of Twitter.

According to Pew Internet, a site like YouTube "currently outranks many other headline-snatching Internet pastimes among American adults." The study found that 46 percent of adult Web users are active on video sharing sites, compared with just 11 percent of adult Internet users who use Twitter.

This most recent study builds on another survey Pew Internet conducted in April that found young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 were the most voracious consumers of video content, with 76 percent of people in that demographic watching video on a daily basis. Meanwhile, more than half of Web surfers ages 30 to 49, or 57 percent, watch video each day. Just 46 percent of people between the ages of 50 and 64 watch or download video on a daily basis and of adults 65 or older, just 39 percent enjoy online video content.

People who consume video on the Web tend to choose content from news organizations, with every demographic except young adults making news video their primary destination. Young adults, on the other hand, prefer to watch humorous video online.