Just six percent admitted to watching or downloading adult videos online in Pew Internet’s latest online video survey, which means approximately 84 percent of them are big fat liars.
I can’t confirm that last number.
In contrast, 13 percent of Pew survey respondents said they watch or download video commercials or advertisements online. If you’re not good at math, that means more than twice as many people are choosing ads over porn.
Or maybe they’re ads for porn.
The world may never know.
Okay, back to serious journalism.
It may surprise you to know that just 57 percent of online adults in the US have used the Internet to watch or download videos. That’s seems rather slim in a burgeoning broadband era, but that number is expected to grow as broadband penetration increases. Of those with broadband access at home or at work, 74 percent watch online videos.
While just under 20 percent watch Web video on a daily basis, that is sure to increase as content providers become more aggressive with online video promotion.
Until then, the Web works like it has always worked, with the majority finding video content virally, via links sent to them from friends. More than half of those surveyed (57%) share links to the video they find with others, and 75 percent say others send them links.
Video viewers that participate via content ratings, commenting, and uploading are the most likely to spread the videos around. And who might these digital carrier monkeys be?
“Young adults are among the most contagious carriers when it comes to understanding how viral videos propagate online,” said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist at the Project and lead author of the report.
“Younger users are the most eager and active contributors to the online video sphere; they are more likely than older users to watch, upload, rate, comment upon and share the video they find.”
But as far as uploading goes, there’s still a very vocal minority. Just 8 percent of adult Internet users say they have uploaded video, most of them (15% overall) in the 18-29 age group.
What is the average online video viewer’s favorite type of content? If you’re over 30, it’s news content. For those fortunate enough to still be under 30, comedy is the most attractive content, with 56 percent preferring humor, compared with just 43 percent who say they prefer news.
While amateur content appeals more to the younger demographics, the Web overall said they preferred professionally produced videos (62%). Just a third of young male viewers prefer amateur, while 43 percent of them prefer professionally produced material.
Other numbers:
37% watch or download video news
31% watch comedy
22% watch educational videos
22% watch music videos
19% watch animation or cartoons
16% watch movies or TV shows
15% watch political videos
14% watch sports
