Four years ago people primarily used the internet for communication. Today, the main reason people go online is to look for content. That's according to a new study released by the Online Publishers Association and Nielsen/NetRatings.

Of course, the change didn't happen overnight. There's been a steady increase over the last few years in the amount of time internet users spend online looking for content. Part of the reason for the shift is that a lot of information that was once only available offline is no online. News, sports, weather, and entertainment information is ubiquitous on the web.

And then there's the whole Web 2.0 thing. There's probably no bigger time suck than social networks, news sites, and media sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr. You could make the case that these sites are blurring the lines between communication and content by letting anyone contribute. But there's a substantive difference between e-mail or IM and leaving comments on MySpace or Facebook.

Interestingly, the study suggests that instant messaging is actually reducing the amount of time people spend "communicating" online. That's because it takes a lot less time and energy to send an IM than an e-mail message. Of course, that all depends on the message you're sending. We've all probably gotten sucked into an online chat that's lasted for hours when a quick e-mail would have gotten the same point across in a few hundred words. Or maybe that's just us.
[via Ars Technica]