Back in the '70s and '80s, baby boomers were at the forefront of a new wave of consumer demand. They also were the early adopters of new media technologies. Their TV viewing habits, purchasing habits, likes and dislikes were tracked intensely by the corporate world to help them determine which products, services and technologies we wanted most.

But fast forward a few decades to the 21st century — are baby boomers still at the forefront of today's media technology?

Given the radical changes in media, particularly over the last decade, including the ubiquitous use of the Internet, social networking services and now even video content delivery over the Web, you wouldn't think baby boomers would be leading the charge forward.

Well, think again.

Boomers Shifting to New Types of Online Entertainment

According to a recent ChangeWave Alliance survey of baby boomers (business professionals between the ages of 45 and 63), we do indeed find this demographic adopting — even eagerly embracing — new media technologies usually associated with younger generations.

The survey revealed a powerful shift occurring among boomers away from traditional TV viewing and towards new types of online services and entertainment. In the first major finding, boomers now spend more free time online (an average of 12.9 hours per week) than they do watching traditional TV programming (an average of 11.8 hours per week).

In another telling finding, by a five-to-one margin boomers reported they are watching less traditional television than they did a year ago. Among this group, 62% say it's because they're not as interested in what's on TV these days. Another 26% say they're spending more time on the Internet.

One way that boomer professionals are spending more time online is with social networking sites.

NEXT: Social Networking: It's Not Just for Teens Anymore