NEW YORK: India is not too "e-media friendly," with only 31.9 hours being spent per person per week on electronic media. 

The country however leads several other countries in newspaper readership with 79 per cent of the reading public hooked on newspapers. India also tops in another category - 87 per cent of parents with children under the age of 20 said that they spend more quality time with them. Worldwide, the figure is 54 per cent. Venezuela is at the bottom of the list at 21 per cent.

These are a few of the findings of 2002 Worldwide Time Study conducted by US based global marketing research and consulting firm RoperASW. The firm compared priorities around the globe. The study, conducted in 30 countries, sampled 1000 people in each country through in-depth interviews and revealed some surprising results with regard to how individuals spend time with family, at work and at play.

The study asked individuals how much time they spend and how often they partake in some common activities, offering a glimpse into the culture of each country. The RoperASW 2002 Worldwide Time Study dealt with consumers age 13 to 65 in each of 30 or more countries each year. The sample is nationally representative of the population in North America and Western Europe and the urban population in other regions and excludes lower-income groups in Latin America, developing Asia and Africa.

South Africans are the most media-hungry with each person devoting 59.4 hours per week to electronic media. Americans are slightly above average with 46.5 hours. The global average for time spent on electronic media (television, radio and Internet) is 42.3 hours per week. 

While India leads in newspaper readership, the US comes in below average at 42 per cent. The UK is about average at 56 per cent. The study found that 53 per cent of the global population reads the newspaper almost daily. Mexico is on the bottom of the list with only 21 per cent.