Eleven percent of adults ages 18 to 34 now watch TV online at least once a week, according to the latest findings by MultiMedia Mentor (aresource for targeting consumers more efficiently with media) from Knowledge Networks. These young adults spend 80 percent more time online than the general 18-to-34 population, and 16 percent more time (about 1.25 hours per day) with media generally; they're also much more likely to belong to and use social networks.

The 18-to-34 leading-edge media group -- defined by their weekly viewing of TV programs online -- has grown from 10 percent in the Fall 2007 MultiMedia Mentor report to 12 percent in Spring 2008 (11 percent is the weighted average across the two waves). Among these young adults:

° Daily time spent with the Internet and TV is about equal -- roughly 3.5 hours for each.

° Almost half (46 percent) belong to one or more social networks -- indexing at 177 versus the general 18-to-34 population -- and this activity consumes 19 percent of their online time, versus 12 percent for the general 18-to-34 population.

° Instant messaging accounts for 16 percent of the TV-online group's Internet time (compared to 12 percent for all 18-to-34s).

° Email was the most used of five specific online activities at 19 percent, the same proportion of time spent as the general 18-to-34 group.

Data collected by Knowledge Networks from MultiMedia Mentor(R) respondents indicates that, while the 18-to-34 TV-online group is ahead of the curve in Internet use, it is mostly conventional in other characteristics. For example:

° 58 percent go to the movies in an average month, compared to 53 percent of all 18-to-34 consumers.

° 81 percent have gone to a fast food restaurant in the past month, compared to 87 percent of the general 18-to-34 population.

° 63 percent own a videogame system, versus 57 percent of the general population

However, the 18-to-34 year olds who watch TV online weekly are more likely to own an MP3 player -- 62 percent do, compared to less than half (45 percent) of all 18-to- 34s.

"Weekly viewing of TV programming online is emerging as a marker for leading-edge media use among this crucial 18-to-34 group," says Bob DeFelice, vice president for Client Service at Knowledge Networks. "For the most part, the TV-online viewers are not trading one medium for another; they are just adding a big helping of Internet time. As more and more of the 18-to-34 population moves in this direction, understanding this group's media preferences and habits will grow in importance to marketers. And we know that a 'platform-agnostic' approach -- one in which content is accessible many places, at the user's demand -- will be an essential ingredient of reaching young adults."

With that in mind, a Mac TV/computer combo seems like a natural. To me, at least.

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