Clash of the Titans: Does Internet Use Reduce Television Viewing?

Abstract

The extent to which the Internet has altered traditional leisure activities has received limited academic study. In this paper we use panel data going back to the beginning of web browsing to examine how the Internet impacts the most important recreation activity of Americans: television viewing. Our results are not consistent with a view that the Internet would have a massive impact on television viewing. Instead, we find that the effect of the Internet on television viewing varies monotonically with the age, reducing it for the youngest American but having no impact on the viewing of the oldest Americans. Even for young individuals, our results suggest that the size of the displacement effect appears to be quite moderate.

Keywords: Television Internet Substitution

JEL Classification: L82