Books or Nooks? How Americans’ reading habits are shifting in a digital world

Books or Nooks?How Americans’ reading habits are shifting in a digital world Kristen Purcell, Ph.D. Associate Director, Research Pew Internet Project Ocean County Library Staff Development Day May 18, 2012

• Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in Washington, DC• PRC’s mission is to provide high quality, objective data to thought leaders and policymakers• Data for this talk is from nationally representative telephone surveys of U.S. adults and teens (on landlines and cell phones)• Presentation slides and all data are available at pewinternet.org

About our libraries research…• Study the changing role of public libraries and library users in the digital age• Funded by a three-year, $1.4 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation• More information available at libraries.pewinternet.org

The Internet:Then and Now

Internet Use in the U.S. in 2000 Slow, stationary connections 46% of US adults used the internet built around a desktop computer 5% had home broadband connections 53% owned a cell phone 0% connected to internet wirelessly 0% used social network sites _________________________Information flowed mainly one way Information consumption was a stationary activity

The Internet in 2012 Mobile devices have82% of US adults use the internet fundamentally changed the relationship between 2/3 have broadband at home information, time and space88% have a cell phone; 46% are Information is now smartphone users portable, participatory, and personal 19% have a tablet computer 19% have an e-reader 2/3 are wireless internet users 65% of online adults use SNS

Internet adoption, 1995-2011% of American adults (age 18+) who use the internet, over time. As of August 2011, 78% of adults use the internet. Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Surveys, March 2000-August 2011.

The main reasons non-internet users do not use the internetIn May 2010, 21% of American adults age 18+ did not use the internet. (This number is 22% as of August 2011.) When askedthe main reason they do not go online (in their own words), these are the factors they cite. % of offline adultsWhat is the MAIN reason you dont use the internet or email?Just not interested 31%Dont have a computer 12Too expensive 10Too difficult 9Its a waste of time 7Dont have access 6Dont have time to learn 6Too old to learn 4Don’t want/need it 4Just dont know how 2Physically unable 2Worried about viruses/spyware/spam 1Other 6Source: Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project, April 29-May 30, 2010 Tracking Survey. N=2,252 adults 18 and older(n=496 for non-internet users).

GADGETS

Adult gadget ownership over time (2006-2012) % of American adults age 18+ who own each device Source: Pew Internet surveys, 2006-2012

Gadget ownership snapshot for adults age 18+ % of American adults age 18+ who own each device Source: The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project surveys.

Mobile is the Needle: 88% of US Adults Have a Cell Phone % in each age group who have a cell phone 46% of US adults now own SMARTPHONES, up from 35% in Spring 2011 Highest rates among: 18-24 year-olds (67%) 25-34 year-olds (71%) 23% of all teens age 12- 17 have a smartphone 31% of 14-17 year-olds have a smartphone, compared with just 8% of Teen data July 2011 Adult data Feb 2012 12-13 year-olds

Overall, if you had to use one single word to describe how you feel about your cell phone, what would that one word be?

Smartphone ownership by age & income/education% of adults within each group who own a smartphone (for example, 58% of 18-29 year olds with a household income of lessthan $30,000 per year are smartphone owners) 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+ (n=336) (n=601) (n=639) (n=626)All adults 66% 59% 34% 13%Annual Household IncomeLess than $30,000 58 42 16 5$30,000 or more 72 69 44 27Educational AttainmentHigh school grad or less 63 43 22 8Some college or college graduate 70 71 44 20Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project January 20-February 19, 2012 tracking survey. N=2,253 adults age 18 and older,including 901 interviews conducted on respondent’s cell phone. Interviews conducted in both English and Spanish.

Gadgets Teens Use to Access the Internet In the last 30 days, have you used the internet on ____? % of all teens age 12-17 who used this gadget in past 30 days to access the internet Desktop or laptop 88% computer Cell phone 49 Mp3 player or iPod 34 Game console 30Tablet computer or iPad 16 0 20 40 60 80 100Source: The Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project, April 19 – July 14, 2011 Teen Survey. n=799 teens 12-17 and a parent or guardian. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish, by landline and cell phone, and included an oversample of minority families.

Tablet and E-reader Use is on the Rise • 29% of US adults own a specialized device for e-reading (either a tablet or an e- reader) – 19% of adults own an e-book reader – 19% of adults own a tablet computer • E-book reader and tablet ownership are strongly correlated with income and education, and these devices are most popular with adults under age 50 • Women are more likely than men to own e- readers, and parents are more likely than non-parents to own tablets

What Kind of e-Reader Do You Own? Percent of e-reader owners age 18+ who own each type of e-book reader

What is the main reason you do not currently have an e-reader?Just dont need one/don’t want one 24% % of AmericansCost/can’t afford it 19 age 16+Prefer books/print 16 who do not ownDon’t read/no time to read 10 an e-bookDon’t know what an e-reader is 5 reader who citeDon’t want to learn tech/don’t know how to use it 4Have enough other devices/use other devices 3 each reasonPlan to get one/waiting for better features 3Have iPad/tablet 3Lack of time in general 2 85% of thoseI’m too old 2 who do not ownVision/health problems <1 an e-bookOther 3Don’t know/refused 5 reader have no plans toDec. 2011 results are from a survey of 2,986 people age 16 and older conducted November 16- purchase oneDecember 21, 2011 conducted in English and Spanish on landline and cell phones. The margin oferror is +/- 2 percentage points. N for non-owners of e-reading devices=2,290.

What Kind of Tablet Computer Do You Own? Percent of tablet owners age 18+ who own each type of tablet computer

What is the main reason you do not currently have a tablet computer?Just dont need one/don’t want one 35% % of AmericansCost/can’t afford it 25Have enough devices/happy with current devices 20 age 16+Don’t want to learn tech/don’t know how to use it 7 who do not ownDon’t know what a tablet computer is 2 a tabletPlan to get one/waiting for better features 2 computer whoI’m too old 2 cite each reasonLack of time in general 1Don’t read/no time to read <1Vision/health problems <1 81% of thosePrefer books/print <1 who do not ownPrefer to use library <1 a tabletOther 2Don’t know/refused 3 computer have no plans toDec. 2011 results are from a survey of 2,986 people age 16 and older conducted November 16-December 21, 2011 conducted in English and Spanish on landline and cell phones. The margin of purchase oneerror is +/- 2 percentage points. N for non-owners of tablet computers=2,290.

WHAT WE DO WITH OUR GADGETS

Mobile is the Needle That Weaves Information Throughout Our World% of US adult cell owners who use their phones to…

Cell Phone Activities by Race/Ethnicity% of adult cell phone owners age 18+ within each group who do the following activities with their cell phone Black, non- White, non-Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic (n=1343) (n=232) (n=196)Send or receive text messages 70 76 83*Take a picture 71 70 79*Access the internet 39 56* 51*Send a photo or video to someone 52 58 61*Send or receive email 34 46* 43*Download an app 28 36* 36*Play a game 31 43* 40*Play music 27 45* 47*Record a video 30 41* 42*Access a social networking site 25 39* 35*Watch a video 21 33* 39*Post a photo or video online 18 30* 28*Check bank balance or do online banking 15 27* 25**indicates statistically significant differences compared with whites.Source: The Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project, April 26 – May 22, 2011 Spring Tracking Survey. n=2,277 adults ages 18and older, including 755 cell phone interviews. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish.

How Phones Function In Our Lives% of US adult cell owners who had done each of the following in the past 30 days…

Using Phones for Real-Time Information % of cell owners in each age group who have performed these real-time activities in the previous 30 days 60% 45 Coordinate a gathering 27 23 49% 39 Solve an unexpected problem 26 15 Decide whether or not to visit a 43% 37 18 business, such as restaurant 12 Look up something to settle an 45% 31 argument 15 18-29 30-49 4 33% Look up sports score 14 29 50-64 65+ 5Get up-to-the minute traffic or public 31% 23 11 transit info 4 21% 21 Get help in an emergency situation 18 16 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Mobile Survey, March 15-April 3, 2012.

Apps: From Superhighway to BypassOne in three US adults download apps to a cell phone or tablet computer Apps provide direct connections to information % of app downloaders who have downloaded each type of app… App downloading is highest among young adults age 18-29 Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

Apps, Geolocation and Augmented Reality

Social Networks are the Threads That Connect Us65% of US adults use social networking sites Consistent rates across gender,race/ethnicity, and income groups

Why We Use Social Networks

Social Networks and Social Cohesion For networked individuals, information is embeddedA Pew study finds that contrary to fears the and ambient internet isolates people...• Facebook usersare more trustingthan other adults• Facebook users have more close relationships• Facebook users get more social support than other adults

Given So Many Choices, How do Teens Communicate? The volume ofteen texting has risen from 50 texts a day in 2009 to 60 texts a day in 2012 for the median teen texterJust 6% of teens use email daily, while 39% say they never use email

Search and Information Gathering Over time, search has remained one of the most popular internet activities % of adult internet users who engage in each activity onlineSource: The Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project tracking surveys, 2002-2012. Social network site use not tracked prior to February, 2005. “Get news online” and “buy a product online” have not yet been asked in 2012.

Who Uses Search?All online adults 91% % of online adults in each groupRace/Ethnicity who use search enginesWhite 93*African American 89*Hispanic 79 While the vast majorityAge18-29 96* of internet users use30-49 91 search engines,50-64 92 some demographic65+ 80 groups are less likelyEducationSome high school 78 than others toHigh school 88* use search….Some college 94*College graduate 95* This includes onlineHousehold income< $30,000 84 adults age 65+ and$30,000 - $49,999 93* those in the lowest$50,000 - $74,999 97* education and income$75,000+ 95* categories.*Denotes statistically significant difference with other rows in that categorySource: Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project Tracking Survey, Jan 20-Feb 19,2012. N=2,253 adults age 18 and older. Interviews conducted in English and Spanish.

Internet users are turning to search engines more frequently % of adult search users who use a search engine…. Daily use of search engines is most common among younger, more educated and more affluent internet users. 60% of internet users age 18-49 are daily search users v. 40% of those 50+ 70% of internet users who have graduated from college are daily search users v. 36% of those who have never beenSource: The Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project Tracking Survey, Jan 20-Feb 19, 2012. to college N=2,253 adults, age 18 and older. Interviews conducted in English and Spanish. An asterisk (*) indicates a significant difference across years at the .95 confidence level.

Most adult search users have faith in the fairness and accuracy of resultsIn general, do you think Internet search engines are a fair and unbiased source of information, or do you thinksearch engines are NOT a fair and unbiased source?In general, how much of the information you find using search engines do you think is accurate ortrustworthy?Source: The Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project Winter 2012 Tracking Survey, January 20-February 19, 2012. N=2,253 adults, age 18 and older, including 901 cell phone interviews. Interviews conducted in English and Spanish.

Most adult search engine users say the relevance and quality of results are improving over timeOverall, in your experience, are search engine results getting MORE relevant and useful over time, LESS relevantand useful, or have you not seen any real difference over time?Overall, in your experience, is the QUALITY of the information you get using search engines getting BETTER overtime, WORSE over time, or have you not seen any real difference? Source: The Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project Winter 2012 Tracking Survey, January 20-February 19, 2012. N=2,253 adults, age 18 and older, including 901 cell phone interviews. Interviews conducted in English and Spanish.

READING IN AMERICA Books or Nooks?

Library Research Timeline…Stage I (August 2011-July 2012) • Focus on libraries and new technologies • The Rise of E-Reading - Published – Special focus on reading habits of e-reader and tablet owners • E-books and libraries - June 2012 – Stories/quotes from library staff and patrons • Library use in different community types (forthcoming) • The habits of younger library users (forthcoming)

First report: The rise of e-reading 21% of American adults read an e-book in the last year 68% read a print book 11% listened to an audiobookOverall, just 19% of adults say they read NO books in the past year, in any format

Book reading by age % of each age group who have read a book in whole or in part in the past 12 monthsSource: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Reading Habits Survey, November 16-December 21, 2011. N=2,986respondents age 16 and older. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cells. The margin of errorfor the sample is +/- 2 percentage points.

What do you like MOST about reading?

% of adult book readers (age 18+) using this format on an averageTheday, as offormat used by readers on any given day book June 2010 and December 2011 is shifting over time % of adult book readers (age 18+) who use each of these formats on an average day Source: Pew Research Center Surveys.

Who are the readers behind the screens?Readers of e-books are more likelythan other readers to be:• Under age 50• College educated• Living in households earning $50K+Other key characteristics:• They read more books, more often, and for a wider range of reasons• More likely to buy than borrow

On what gadgets do e-readers read their books? % of e-book readers age 16 and older who read e-books on each type of device

Which is better – print or e-book?Asked of those16+ who have read both e-books and print books in last 12 months

When you want to read a particular e-book, where do you look first? % of e-book readers age 16+ who look first to each source

Some Takeaways for LibrariesAdditional takeaways for librarians • The gadget doesn’t make the reader, but it may change the reader • 41% of tablet owners and 35% of e- reader owners said they are reading more since the advent of e-content • A majority of print readers (54%) and e-book readers (61%) prefer to purchase their own copies of books • Most audiobook listeners (61%) prefer to borrow their audiobooks

Library Research Timeline…Stage II (May-November 2012) • Focus on the changing world of library services • The evolving role of libraries in communities – New library services – People’s expectations of libraries – “The library of the future” • The role of libraries in the lives of special populations – Lower-income users, minorities, rural residents, seniors

Library Research Timeline…Stage III (Sept 2012–April 2013) • Library User Typology – Different user “types” based on: • Characteristics of respondent’s local library • How respondent uses the library • Respondent’s attitudes about libraries in general • An updated, in-depth portrait of young library users

All data available at: pewinternet.org libraries.pewinternet.org Kristen Purcell, Ph.D. Associate Director, ResearchPew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project kpurcell@pewinternet.org Twitter: @pewinternet @kristenpurcell

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Books or Nooks? How Americans’ reading habits are shifting in a digital world

by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project on May 18, 2012

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Books or Nooks? How Americans’ reading habits are shifting in a digital world Presentation Transcript