By Patricia Odell From ADTech

The Internet is now the main communication channel for kids 8 to 15 years old, and 54% of them predict that in five years they will be spending more time online than playing sports. "This is the digital medium of this age."

Internet access now reaches 75% of the U.S. population. Twenty-nine percent of kids ages eight to 15 are considered heavy users at 10-plus hours per week, 40% are medium users, spending five to 10 hours online per week and another 31% are considered light users at less than five hours per week. And as the number of households with broadband access increases, kids spend even more time online citing the speed and ease of using broadband service.