The Internet is the platform most Canadians use to consume media, and they consider it twice as influential as any other source for news, the Fleishman-Hillard 2010 Digital Influence Index revealed, The Vancouver Sun reported today.

"Compared to the 27 percent of Canadian consumers who say that TV is important to their lives, 54 percent say that the Internet is most important," Fleishman-Hillard stated in a press release.

The data shows that Canadians spend an average of 37 hours per week consuming media and 34 percent of this time - equivalent to 16.6 hours -- is used online. While television is the second most consumed news source, with an average of 12 hours a week, Canadians only spend two hours reading newspapers.

"It's not that consumers aren't getting news, but they now prefer it to be delivered online. In Canada, 42 percent don't read printed magazines and 28 percent don't read the print version of newspapers," The Vancouver Sun explained.

Regardless of the time Canadians spend online, their attitude towards the Internet is "cautiously trusting." According to designtaxi.com, "Canadians would rather seek and heed advice given by friends or family in real-life."

Nonetheless, the Index showed that 44 percent of users trust information found on the Internet if it comes from the government, while only 16 percent will trust information shared online by other users.

The Digital Influence Index, which is in its second edition and was released last week, measures Internet influence in Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.