5.1.2 Screen Proliferation
Along with digitization, the second fundamental shift in media consumption is screen pro-
liferation. As computers have become smaller and more convenient, sales of new form
factors have risen rapidly. In the US, smartphone penetration reached 74% in 2013
and tablet ownership rose to 52% (
Sahagian, 2013). In the UK, smartphone and tablet
penetration rose to 51% and 24%, respectively in 2013 (
Ofcom, 2013).
Smartphones and tablets are capable of receiving mass media, but this does not seem to
be their primary use.
Fetto (2013) reports that the typical smartphone owner in America
spends about an hour per day using the device. Seventy-one percent of usage time is spent
on talk, text, e-mail, and social networking. Only about 14% of usage is spent visiting web-
sites, suggesting that mass media consumption via smartphone is less than 10 min per day.
Although smartphones and tablets are not a major vehicle for mass media consump-
tion in the US, they nonetheless are affecting mass media consumption in fundamental
ways. According to numerous recent surveys, consumers increasingly use these devices to
multitask while viewing television. For example,
Nielsen (2010) claimed that 34% of all
Internet usage time occurred simultaneously with television consumption.
Ofcom (2013)
found that 81% of all tablet owners, and 53% of UK adults overall, say that they multitask
by using mobile devices during television programs on a weekly basis. The most frequent
self-reported media multitaskers are young, female, and high income.
The “second screen” (a tablet, smartphone, laptop, or even a desktop) may serve as
either a complement or a substitute to traditional television. According to
Google (2012),
there are two modes consumers use while multitasking with television: simultaneous
usage and sequential usage. In simultaneous usage, the viewer divides attention between
unrelated activities on the two devices, for example, playing a video game during a com-
mercial break or checking email while the television plays in the background. Consumers
report that 78% of media multitasking time is spent on simultaneous usage.
The remaining 22% of media multitasking is sequential usage. This behavior can be
related to either television programs or advertisements. For example, the phenomenon of
posting messages about programs on social networks (e.g., Facebook or Twitter) has
become sufficiently common that some practitioners now refer to it as “social television.”
According to
Nielsen (2014b), 36% of Australian adults reported interacting with fellow
viewers on social networks during or shortly after television programs they watched, up
from 31% the previous year.
Sequential usage can also be driven by television advertising.
Google (2012) found
that 17% of multitasking search occasions were prompted by a television commercial.
Television viewers can also respond to advertisements by visiting a retailer to gather
product information or make an impulse purchase.
In summary, digitization and media multitasking appear to be fairly prevalent and
increasingly important. The next two sections summarize recent academic research on
how these two trends are changing mass media markets.
212 Handbook of Media Economics
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