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For the wired generation, the internet has become the medium of choice in terms of overall time spent. They use it as their media "hub" and feel empowered by the profuse number of media choices available to them.

The results of the study were unveiled today at "Born to be Wired: Understanding the First Wired Generation," Yahoo!'s conference for marketers, which is designed to further explore media consumption patterns of teens and young adults, and how marketers can best communicate with this group.

In an average week, the study found that teens and young adults divided their time as follows:

1. 16.7 hours online (excluding email);

2. 13.6 hours watching TV;

3. 12 hours listening to the radio;

4. 7.7 hours talking on the phone;

5. Six hours reading books and magazines (personal, not studying).

One of the key findings to emerge from the study is that young adults revealed that "control", or the ability to personalise and manage media experience and content, is the primary reason behind this group choosing the internet over other forms of media.

Wenda Harris Millard, chief sales officer at Yahoo!, said: "Marketers have been using the same media strategies since television became the primary medium for most market segments in the 1950s. It's time to rethink. The findings of our joint study confirm that the media landscape is shifting."

She added: "Our industry needs to evaluate and change our communications approach to successfully reach this key target market. This generation is a revolutionary consumer group, actively in control and entrenched in their media experience, and their patterns will influence the future of media spending."

The idea of the hub also came through strongly. The survey findings showed that teens use the internet as a "hub" -- or primary media -- while other media are used as a starting point for the online experience.

While other or generations are more likely to be wed to a single type of media, the study revealed that today's youth market is not overwhelmed by the abundance of media choices of cable, network TV, magazines and radio, but rather they feel empowered by it and naturally multitask, more so than any other generation.

On a typical day, a member of this youth market is faced with a universe comprising 200-plus cable television networks; 5,500 consumer magazine titles, 10,500 radio stations, 30m-plus websites, and 122,000 newly published books.

While to many adults, this is might seem a daunting and fragmented media landscape, this is not the case for the 13- to 24-year-olds who take all of this in their stride. As the study points out -- they were born into a world of multimedia choice.

Sarah Fay, president of Carat Interactive, said: "This study gives us insight that helps not only to determine the appropriate media mix for reaching teens, but more importantly the role of each medium, and how the dots connect within that mix. This new information will guide us into the future as consumer media habits continue to morph toward more diverse and fragmented mediums."

As part of the Yahoo! event, six teens will "relocate" their bedrooms to Yahoo! headquarters. Every detail, from the posters on their walls to the teens themselves, will be on display at the event, showcasing the influence of various mediums on their daily lives.

This study interviewed a total of 2,618 people and was conducted by Harris Interactive and Teenage Research Unlimited.

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