Survey: We want laughs from Internet videos

Nearly seven in 10 adult Internet users have gone online to watch or download videos and the biggest draw - pornography aside - is anything that will make you laugh, according to a survey out today.

But when it comes to uploading videos, only 14 percent of adult Internet users count themselves among content providers, the survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project found. And they mostly upload home videos.

The study said half of adult Internet users viewed comedy or humorous videos online compared to 31 percent in 2007.

Other categories include educational videos (38 percent), movies or TV shows (32 percent) and political videos (30 percent).

"We are seeing a surge in online video watching that is driven by a combination of broadband access, the increasing use of social networking sites, and the popularity of video-sharing sites," Kristen Purcell, the project's associate director for research, said in a statement.

In an e-mail reply to a question, Purcell said the survey did not include pornography because "very few people will be honest in a telephone survey about viewing adult content online."

The report is based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International between June 18-21, 2009 among a sample of 1,005 adults, 18 and older.