From readers to users and creators : migration of printed media readers to the Internet : research results of 2007-2015

A decrease in the interest in traditional media andthe choice of social network media as the main sources of information come as the essential conclusions formulated after the research on the evolution of media usage. Such migratory behaviour presented by users of printed media and television can be defined as an integral element of media convergence. The article aims at the presentation of the research results and the analysis of the research on changes in media consumption, with a particular consideration of printed media, carried out in Poland in the years 2007-2015. The survey was cyclically carried out over the period of eight years. It involved a group of 720 respondents aged 20-21, who were students of three faculties at Gdansk University. The research suggests that traditional paper printed newspapers are less and less read, whereas there has been a significant increase in the number of the Internet editions of printed media readers. The decreasing interest in traditional media does not proceed evenly. The decline in the interest in television appears to be much more noticeable than the decrease in the interest in reading daily printed media. The significance of weekly and monthly periodicals has been also decreased. The position of the radio, however, maintains at a stable level. The media platforms of the first choice are social networking websites and, to some lesser extent, information internet portals. The research of printed media consumption indicates a slight decrease in the level of meeting newspaper readers’ expectations. The group of people who have stopped buying newspapers has considerably increased. The trends listed above come as the elements of a discussion concerning the relations between the new and the old media. Media users’ migratory behaviour does not only apply to the reader market but to the advertisement market as well. Publishers and advertisers are facing the decline of their audience who has been one of the most attractive