Nov 11, 2003/ FW/ --- According to a research conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates for the Online Publishers Association (OPA), men aged 18-34 who are frequent visitors to online news, information and entertainment web sites spend more time online than watching television.

Specifically, men aged 18-34 report spending an average of 21 hours per week online, compared to only 15.7 hours watching television.

"These data suggest that use of the web may indeed be a contributing factor to the measured decline in primetime TV viewing this season among men 18-34," said Michael Zimbalist, executive director of the Online Publishers Association.

"The degree to which Internet use has contributed to a permanent shift in the media habits of U.S. consumers, including men 18-34, will be the subject of a major study of 18-34 year olds and their media habits to be released by the OPA in early 2004," he added.

Though technically not part of the "internet generation," the 18-34 age group are prime candidates for heavy internet usage.

Demographically called Gen Y, and generally called the "nintendo generation," this age group is very comfortable with computers.

Though the result is not surprising, it proves that the internet is now fully entrenched in the American lifestyle.