The Internet has edged out television as Canada's favourite medium, according to a study on media and advertising by Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis.

The survey released Thursday revealed 88% of Canadian respondents said they could not live without the Internet, or would miss it a great deal, while 70% said the same for TV.

Synovate said it conducted the study because marketers are struggling to understand how to connect with potential customers.

"Should they join the social media zeitgeist or dabble around the edges in a wait-and-see stance? Is their brand best served by TV, print or radio? And what about the mobile platform?" said global executive director of media, Steve Garton, in a release.

"Of course the answer is all wrapped up with targeting and ROI, the same as it has always been," he said. "To do that well, you simply need to understand your audience... what they like and where their lives intersect with media and brands."

About a third of those surveyed said they could live without newspapers and magazines, referring to them as "nice to have" sources of information.

"Online newspapers, online magazines, Twitter–all of this is leading the shift from newspapers and magazines to the virtual world," said Rob Myers, managing director of Synovate in Canada.

"The long-term question is how changing demographics will continue to drive this shift and if the teens and kids of today will ever pick up a newspaper or magazine in the future," said Myers.

Only 16% of Canadians said they couldn't live without radio, while 37% would "miss it a great deal."

Other findings include:

• Seven in 10 Canadians think there are too many ads on TV, and 54% feel there are too many ads in magazines.

• 88% of those surveyed have tried to avoid TV and radio ads by turning off, changing the channel or using PVRs to fast forward through them.

• 43% have avoided websites they feel have intrusive advertising.

• 37% said they would like websites and TV channels to somehow monitor ads and only provide those that are relevant to their interests.

However, the idea of "Big Brother" is still a concern for some Canadians, with 38% of respondents rejecting the idea of behavioural targeting, while 11% aren't interested in changing the ads they see.