I just read some fun data on the BBC regarding the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) 2006 report.

It does not surprise me that young adults are usually far more prone to adopt new trends and be responsive to changes in technology that give them advantages (call it the “more free time to explore less disposable cash phenomenon” if you will). But one thing did surprise me, from the BBC article:

Sixteen to 24 year olds, it reports, spend nearly three hours on the net each week.

Nearly three hours a week? That can’t be right, or the numbers must conceal something like a group that doesn’t have access. I believe that the amount of time online for this age group will soon surpass three hours a day, especially if you count mobile phones and handheld devices that are “connected”.

The actual report gives some food for thought:

16-24 year olds spend on average 21 minutes more time online per week, send 42 more SMS text messages, but spend over seven hours less time watching television.

[…]

3G mobile services are now available to over 90% of the population and the proportion of unbundled exchanges is up ten percentage points on 2004.

So I think the more challenging question soon will be, in terms of the convergence of emerging technology, what these numbers will look like when you can watch television on your 3G mobile devices and send SMS text messages from your television.