IntroductionInternet use has become an increasingly common leisure time activity among Chinese citizens. The association between Internet use and engagement in leisure activities is especially unclear among China population. This study aims to investigate Internet usage and to determine whether active Internet use is a marker for low or high levels of leisure time activities.Methods/Principal FindingsWith the use of a face-to-face structured questionnaire interview, a total of 2,400 respondents who met all screening requirements were surveyed to answer the questions in eight major cities in China. 66.2% (n = 1,589) of all respondents were identified as Internet users. Of these Internet users, 30.0%, 24.1%, 26.4%, and 19.6% were clustered as “informative or instrumental users,” “entertainment users,” “communication users,” and “advanced users,” respectively. Regarding time spent on Internet use in leisure time, more than 96% reported going online in non-work situations, and 26.2% (n = 416) were classified as “heavy Internet users.” A logistic regression analysis revealed that there were significant differences in some leisure activities between non-Internet users and Internet users, with an observed one-unit increase in the leisure time dependence category increasing the probability of engaging in mental or social activities. In contrast, Internet users were less engaged in physical exercise-related activities. In addition, advanced Internet users were generally more active in leisure time activities than non-Internet users and other types of users.Conclusion/SignificanceInternet use is one of very common leisure activities in Chinese citizens, and age, gender, income, and education are the key factors affecting Internet access. According to different types of leisure activities, Internet usage has different impacts on leisure activity engagement. High Internet dependence has no significant negative influence on engagement in mental or social leisure activities, but this group respondent tended to be less engaged in physical activities.

In our increasingly digital era, Internet advertising efforts continue to expand with a strong ability to efficiently target, behaviorally profile, and interactively engage consumers. This trend is a challenge to conventional advertising efforts and calls into question what roles they may continue to play. This study delineates that in the digital era, Internet and conventional advertising efforts have differentiating functions in shaping consumer brand perceptions. Collating data from two independent sources, we examined 195 leading consumer brands across 23 product categories in China in 2011 to verify our key postulates. The findings confirmed the salience of both Internet and conventional advertising efforts on generating brand awareness, and uncovered the unique role of conventional advertising efforts in directly creating brand desire. Furthermore, the effect of conventional advertising efforts on brand desire is contingent on the nature of whether the consumer International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies 88 brands are hedonic or utilitarian.