Over the years, the Digital Future survey has tracked the perceived importance of different media as sources of information. As shown in our reports, the percentage of users who ranked the Internet high in importance as a source of information for them was consistently higher than that for any other medium.

In 2010, three quarters of online Americans age 17 and older said they considered the Internet to be an important or very important source of information for them.  Television was next with 67 percent, followed by interpersonal communication (63 percent), newspapers (53 percent), and radio (50 percent).

Across all media, in 2010 the percentage of users reporting that a medium was important or very important for them reached the lowest level since 2007. The largest drop was registered for radio (63 percent in 2007 to 50 percent in 2010), while the decline was only marginal for TV (68 percent in 2007 to 67 percent in 2010).
__________

Views about sources of information
(Internet users)

views-about-sources-of-info

 

For the full report of the 2010 findings, visit here.

Visit the Web Insight Archive.