Young people 'would rather live without TV than mobiles or net'

For the first time, more young people say they would prefer to give up watching television than doing without their mobiles phones or the internet, according to an Ofcom survey.

Reflecting the rise of online viewing and competition from activities such as social networking, just 23% of 16- to 24-year-olds now say they would struggle without TV.

Instead, 28% told the media regulator's survey that they would miss their mobile phone and 26% the internet.

In another blow for traditional television viewing, although it remains the medium that would be missed the most for the UK as a whole, it has decreased from 50% in 2009 to 44% in 2010.

Research published by the regulator for its annual adult and children's media literacy reports has also revealed that the "digital divide" between the generations continues, with half of all parents thinking they know less about the internet than their children.

Some 54% of eight- to 15-year-olds who use the internet at home have a social networking profile on sites such as Facebook, up from 45% in 2009 – the same percentage as for adult users.

Ofcom's survey for 2010 also found that 48% of parents with children aged five to 15 reckon they are less internet-savvy than their offspring, rising to 70% among parents of 12- to 15-year-olds.

However, parents appear to be less concerned about how their children use the internet, with fewer setting parental controls, down from 43% in 2009 to 37%.

At the same time, children are spending longer on the internet than ever before, with more of them using mobiles and games consoles to go online.

About a fifth of five- to 15-year-olds own a smartphone, increasing to a third among 12- to 15-year-olds.

And 40% of them now access the internet in their bedroom, up from 31% in 2009.

Ofcom's annual study of just over 2,000 over-16s and a similar number of five- to 15-year-olds also found that 74% of households have the internet at home and the amount of time people are spending on it increased from 12.2 hours in 2009 to 14.2 hours last year.

Interestingly, 12- to 15-year-olds now say they spend 15.6 hours a week on the internet, just below the 17.2 hours they spend watching television.

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