A Google Colombia study has found that Colombians prefer viewing online media content over watching television, website Enter.co reported Wednesday.
The poll of 484 people in cities around the country, commissioned by Google and conducted by marketing firm Irol D’alessio, found that Colombians spend more time surfing the net than watching TV or listening to the radio.
Of those polled in the study, 84% said that they connect to the internet several times a day, while only 59% watch television, 43% listen to radio and 37% read print newspapers.
“The results of the study don’t surprise me because, in terms of internet, Colombians are no different than consumers in the most developed countries in the world, like the United States,” said Daniel Gertsacov, director of New Google Markets for Latin America.
Nine out of ten respondents in the study said that they refrain from buying expensive products until they have investigated them online.
Although 484 is a small sample of the estimated 33 million internet users in the country, the article maintains that the results are indicative of a changing trend in media consumption in the country.
A separate article on the Enter.co website reported that the government has plans to make online government services available to Colombians in 706 municipalities as part of a social program called Gobierno en Linea, according to Information and Communication Technologies (TIC) Minister Diego Molano Vega.
Colombia ranks first in the region for online provision of government services, according to the United Nations.