According to a new report Media Consumption Patters: Online Vies with TV As Primary Medium, online users spend as much time as they spend watching TV, while users under the age of 35 spend more time online than on TV.

Both TV viewing and online use have increased during the past five years, although usage appears stabilised. Consumers say they spend over ten times as much time with TV and the Internet as they do with print media like magazines and newspapers.

Despite this trend, however, advertisers continue to spend disproportionately on print, with newspapers garnering nearly three times the expenditure of online. Money spent on television advertising remains the clear leader among the marketing mix with advertisers spending four times as much on TV advertising as all online advertising.

JupiterResearch VP senior analyst David Card says, “Neither relatively better targeting nor the increasing availability of branding-friendly rich media and video inventory have led to any demonstrable online cannibalization of TV spending. But that’s partly because over half of users’ time online is spent in communications, like e-mail and instant messaging.”

So while online social networks might seem like the ideal mix of media and communications, advertisers must use them appropriately. Brand advertisers should rely on sponsorships, widgets, or branded microsites within the networks.

JupiterResearch analyst Emily Riley says, “Sponsoring personal-page themes and widgets that entertain or offer exclusive access to content also makes sense for reaching potential brand advocates. But it takes a light touch. Marketing can’t be so intrusive that it risks creating negative brand association."