Transcript 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.

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
Internet Use
by Age
Teen data Sept 2009
Adult data Nov 2010
There Remains a Digital Divide
Internet access
is highest
among…
Whites
High-speed (broadband)
access in the home is also
most common in white,
highly educated and more
affluent households
College
graduates
Those with
household
incomes
above
$50,000
High-speed
connection means
greater overall
engagement in online
activities, particularly
activities like social
media
Cell
Use
is rise
on the Rise
Cell phone
use is
on the
Teen data Sept 2009
Adult data Nov 2010
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
New Kids on the Block
Percent of US adults 18+ who own each type of gadget…
85%
61%
57%
43%
Cell Phone
Desktop
Laptop
38%
MP3 Player Game Console
7%
6%
Tablet
Computer
e-Reader
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
Young Adults Lead the Way in Wireless Internet Use
Among adults who use their cell phone to go online…
In April 2009,
just 36% went online daily
via their cell phone
Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
• 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
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 geolocation service or
function such as
Foursquare or
Google Latitude to
share their location
with friends
Teen data Sept 2009
Adult data Nov 2010
Planet of the Apps
All adults
84% use cell phones
According to the
Nielsen Mobile
Insights Survey,
the most popular
apps are…
35% have apps
Games
24% use apps
News/Weather
Map/Navigation
35% of adults have apps on their phones,
but only 24% say they actually use them
Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
Social Networking
Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
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
Online News and
Information
Industrial Age
Information Age
Info was:
Info is:
Scarce
Abundant
Expensive
Cheap
Institutionally
oriented
Personally
oriented
Designed for
consumption
Designed for
participation
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
Multiple Platforms are the Norm
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
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Who Gets Their News Online?
71% of American adults ever get news
or information online
The majority of ONC are under age 50
Almost a third are under age 30
The median age of ONC is 40
Compared to other adults, ONC
are…
• more educated
• more affluent
• disproportionately white and
Hispanic
• more likely to have broadband
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Most Popular Online Sources for News and
Information
% of ONC Who Use Each Type of Site on a Typical Day
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.
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
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?
Only 7% of all people who get news online
have a favorite online news source they would
be willing to pay for
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
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
“On the Go” News Consumers
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
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
“News Participators”
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
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
“The Daily Me”
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
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Local News
WhatLocal
is the
Demand
for Local
News
Enthusiasts
Are…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 nonrural 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
Available at pewinternet.org
• 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
Thank You!
Kristen Purcell, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Research
Pew Research Center’s Internet &
American Life Project
[email protected]
Twitter: @kristenpurcell