Trends to Watch: News and Information Consumption

Trends to Watch : News and Information Consumption Kristen Purcell, Ph.D. Associate Director, Research Pew Internet Project Catholic News Service March 24th, 2011 Washington, DC

Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in Washington, DC
Provide high quality, objective data to thought leaders and policy makers
Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
All findings are based on nationally representative telephone surveys of…
U.S. adults age 18+ or U.S. teens ages 12-17
Drawn from dual-frame (landline/cell phone) samples

The Basics Internet Use, Mobile, Social Networks, Apps Online News Consumption Portable, Participatory, Personal Local News Local Goes Mobile

The Basics

Internet Use by Age Teen data Sept 2009 Adult data Nov 2010 Internet Use by Age

Internet access is highest among…
Whites
College graduates
Those with household incomes above $50,000
High-speed (broadband) access in the home is also most common in white, highly educated and more affluent households
High-speed connection means greater overall engagement in online activities, particularly activities like social media
There Remains a Digital Divide

Cell phone use is on the rise Teen data Sept 2009 Adult data Nov 2010 Cell Use is on the Rise

Laptops are becoming the computer of choice For the first time in 2010, adults 18-29 were more likely to own a laptop than a desktop

Based on Nov 2010 and Jan 2011 Pew Internet Surveys Tablet ownership among U.S. adults rose from 4% to 7% between September 2010 and January 2011 New Kids on the Block Percent of US adults 18+ who own each type of gadget…

Young Adults Lead the Way in Wireless Internet Use

Among adults who use their cell phone to go online… Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey In April 2009, just 36% went online daily via their cell phone

Overall, wireless internet users are more engaged in online activities
Half of all African-American adults in the US (48%) have used their cell phone to access the internet, compared with 40% of Hispanic adults and 31% of white adults
Overall, African-American adults are the most active mobile internet users
African-American mobile internet use is growing at a faster rate than non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics

Based on Sept 2009 Pew Internet Survey

Teen data Sept 2009 Adult data Nov 2010 Teens and young adults are the heaviest SNS users SURPRISE! Among teens, girls are no more likely than boys to use SNS. But among adults, women use SNS at higher rates than men.

Teen data Sept 2009 Adult data Nov 2010 Twitter is still much less popular than SNS On the horizon… In January 2011, 17% of adult internet users said they use a geo-location service or function such as Foursquare or Google Latitude to share their location with friends

84% use cell phones 35% have apps 24% use apps All adults 35% of adults have apps on their phones, but only 24% say they actually use them According to the Nielsen Mobile Insights Survey, the most popular apps are… Games News/Weather Map/Navigation Social Networking Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey Planet of the Apps

11% of cell owners are not sure if their phone is equipped with apps 29% of cell owners have downloaded an app to their phone and 13% have paid to download an app Among those with apps, the average adult has 18 apps on his/her phone App users are disproportionately male (57% male v. 43% female) They are also more likely to be college graduates and have incomes of $75,000 or more 18-29 year-olds make up one-quarter of the total U.S. adult population but almost half (44%) of the app using population Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

Online News and Information

The “New” Information Ecology
Blurring line between “news” and “information”
Information is “free”
Information is “at my fingertips”
Information is available when I want it
Information is available from multiple sources

Nine in ten American adults (92%) get news/info from multiple platforms on a typical day For six in ten American adults (59%), one of those platforms is the internet *Platforms include print newspapers, television, radio and the internet Multiple Platforms are the Norm Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

71% of American adults ever get news or information online The majority of ONC are under age 50
Compared to other adults, ONC are…
more educated
more affluent
disproportionately white and Hispanic
more likely to have broadband
Almost a third are under age 30 The median age of ONC is 40 Who Gets Their News Online? Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

% of ONC Who Use Each Type of Site on a Typical Day Most Popular Online Sources for News and Information Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

Most Popular Online News Topics % of Online Adults Who Get News/Information Online About Each Topic Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

Overall Coverage 51% of U.S. adults say there is currently enough coverage of religion and spirituality 41% would like more coverage of religion The only topic that more people want improved coverage of is scientific news and discoveries

Most Popular Features of Online News Sites % of ONC Who Say Each Feature is Important Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey The most popular features allow people to interact with, share, and customize their news. This is especially true for young adults.

How many websites, if any, do you routinely rely on for news and information? Do you have a favorite online news source, or do you not have a favorite? Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey Most People Get News from Multiple Sites

How many websites, if any, do you routinely rely on for news and information? Do you have a favorite online news source, or do you not have a favorite? Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey Most People Get News from Multiple Sites Only 7% of all people who get news online have a favorite online news source they would be willing to pay for

Four Styles of Online News Consumption Efficient Grazers Most use multiple sites, and portals rank high as a favorite online news feature Hunters and Gatherers 71% go online specifically to get news/information at least a few times a week Serendipitous News Discoverers 80% come across news/information at least a few times a week while they are online doing other things News/Info Receivers 44% get news forwarded to them through email, automatic updates and alerts, or posts on social networking sites at least a few times a week Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

Three P’s of Today’s Information Ecosystem Portable Participatory Personalized

26% of adults (33% of cell owners) access news on their cell phones
Among this population, 73% use social networking sites and 29% use Twitter
Typically a white male, age 34, employed full-time
One in ten adults gets news alerts sent to their phone
“ On the Go” News Consumers Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

37% of internet users have contributed news content, commented on it, or disseminated it via postings on social network sites
Half of all online African-Americans (46%) are news participators
Overall, 71% of internet users get news through email or posts on social network sites
Remember…42% of ONC say being able to easily share material is a feature they look for
35% look for news sites where they can
comment on stories
“ News Participators” Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

28% of internet users have customized their homepage to include news of particular interest to them
39% say being able to customize content is something they look for in a news site
70% of adults say they are overwhelmed by the amount of news and information available today
“ The Daily Me” Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

Local News

Local News Enthusiasts Are… What is the Demand for Local News? 39% of American adults say there is not enough coverage of their state government in the news 38% say there is not enough coverage of their neighborhood and local community (skews Gen Y) Combined, 53% of adults are “local news enthusiasts” Those who want more community coverage are more likely than other adults to… *access the internet on a handheld device *get news from a website that specializes in a particular topic *say they need to follow the news for their job *get news forwarded to them through email, automatic alerts/updates or posts on social network sites Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey

Who are they? They’re disproportionately young, affluent, highly educated, living in non-rural communities and newer residents of their communities More than a third say they and others like them can have a big impact on their community Half report using 6or more sources monthly to get local news and information, more than double the number for other adults 75% use social network websites vs. just 42% of those who do not get local information on their mobile device They’re 4X more likely to use Twitter

Not All Local Topics Have Gone Mobile Crime Community events Schools and education Politics Cultural events Social services Just a small fraction of adults, if any, cited a mobile device as a primary source for these topics For now, mobile devices are a supplemental platform for local news, not a primary source for most topics

Would You Pay for Local News? 33% currently pay for local newspaper subscriptions, 1% for local news app, and 5% for access to local news in some other form

Takeaways

How Mobile Devices are Changing Community Information Environments
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Local-mobile-news.aspx
How the Public Perceives Community Information Systems
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/08-Community-Information-Systems.aspx
Generations and their Gadgets
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Generations-and-gadgets.aspx
Mobile Access 2010
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010.aspx
Understanding the Participatory News Consumer
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News.aspx
Social Media and Young Adults http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx
Available at pewinternet.org

Kristen Purcell, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Research
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
[email_address]
Twitter: @kristenpurcell
Thank You!

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Trends to Watch: News and Information Consumption

by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project on Mar 23, 2011

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Trends to Watch: News and Information Consumption — Presentation Transcript