The Freshman 15…minutes of TV, that is.

A study from Ypulse, a youth-focused research firm, finds that 46 percent of college students watch TV on a television set most of the time, and the other 54 percent are watching online or on a mobile device. The study also found that more than 80 percent of college students said they can’t live without music, while less than a third said they couldn’t live without TV.
More college students are watching television online because their social lives take precedent over watching their favorite programs. With night classes, parties, studying and exams, minimal time is left to watch a breadth of television programming. Instead of accommodating their social lives to their favorite shows, they watch their favorite shows online whenever it’s convenient. However, high-schoolers are less likely to view programming online because their schedules are far less demanding and they are usually home from their extra-curriculars in the evening in time for primetime programming.
It’s no surprise that these young people can’t live without music.  Music is a huge variable in self-discovery and reflects their personality and how they are perceived by their peers, which is most important in those teenage years.  Music is something that students take with them wherever they go, whether it be on their commute to school, while waiting for class to begin, or just hanging out with friends.
TV is a less involved form of entertainment and they don’t have the ability to customize a television channel with all of their favorite shows like they can do on their iPods with their favorite artists and songs.
The study doesn’t state that college students are not watching TV, but how they’re watching is definitely changing with the times.
For a media buyer, this information can be useful when reaching college students. With the advancement of streaming on the web, thru mobile devices and game consoles, the ever changing media landscape has provided us with other avenues to impact this audience.