Media consumption patterns are changing rapidly, with two recent reports giving some insights into new ways consumers are using telecommunications and the media. Media-rich lifestyles, multi-tasking, and a passion for the internet are the norm among 8-24 year olds in Australia. These on-the-pulse consumers are fitting 38 hours of activities into every 24 hour period.
A report by international research company Synovate says young consumers are capable of consuming multiple media at the same time, and regularly squeeze 11 hours of media consumption into each day.
This statistic is in line with Commercial Radio’s recent studies, which show consumers often listen to the radio and use the internet at the same time, with over 80% of people who hear a relevant radio commercial referring to a website visiting that site as a result (click here to see more CRA radio/internet effectiveness stats).
The third annual Synovate Young Aussies Study (part of the Young Asians study) looks at what’s in the hearts and minds of the region’s youth, revealing their media perceptions and consumption, purchase habits, attitudes, leisure activities and socialising habits as “well-connected, curious, and technologically advanced.” It covers 11 markets across Asia Pacific, including Australia for the first time.
According to the Synovate report, tv is still the most used medium by time, with an average of 4.1 hours per day consumed, followed by internet (3.4 hrs), DVD and video consumption (1.2 hrs), then radio (1.1 hrs). Newspaper and magazine reading is lower still, at 0.6 hours each.
The internet however, was the fastest growing usage medium, and nearly half of young people surveyed said they “could not live without the internet.”
Over half (52%) of young Aussies say their internet usage has increased from the previous year, while only 16% reported an increase in TV watching, 17% in reading a newspaper, 13% in reading a magazine, 30% in playing sports, and 27% in offline meeting with friends. Young Aussies spend an average of 3.4 hours per day on the internet, and in years to come this can only be expected to rise.
When asked which media consumption channel gives youth the most useful information, the internet was nominated by 58%, newspapers 11%, television 9% and magazines 7%. When asked which is best for keeping youth up-to-date, 48% said the internet, 16% said newspapers, and 14% said television.
In this era the internet is also a popular communication and social engagement tool. One-third (36%) of youth read other people’s social network profile pages and 35% update their own profile page. The internet is a way of connecting them and allowing others into their lives like never before.
It’s not surprising that the media channel youth most enjoy is the internet, with 53% of youth saying they enjoy spending time on the internet, compared to 18% for watching television, 7% for reading magazines, 6% for listening to the radio, and 2% for reading the newspaper. Young Aussies are using the internet to do more traditional activities like read the newspaper and listen to the radio.
Radio had the lowest level of attention paid to it, not necessarily a bad thing because radio has always marketed itself as the medium you can use while doing other things as well. While consumers can’t really listen to the radio while watching tv, it is far more possible to listen to the radio and view the internet at the same time. The report calls this the age of “partial attention.”
Another report, ACMA’s Communications Report 2006-07, says mobile phone take up demonstrates the value that consumers place on mobility and convenience. The levels of mobile phone ownership, 21.26 million mobiles in a population of 19.8 million Australians demonstrates the popularity of mobile phones.
Mobile take up has been at the expense of fixed line services, with 40% of consumers reporting that they use their mobile phone more than their home phone. VoIP remains an emerging technology and is yet to experience comparable levels of migration of consumers and usage.
The increasing accessibility and functionality of the internet is also changing other consumer behaviours, as home access to broadband becomes central to meeting consumers’ information, communications and entertainment needs. Internet take-up is increasing, with 79% of households having internet access and 54% with broadband access. ACMA’s own research suggests that 91% of households with children have internet access, and 76% have broadband.
Both the amount of time spent on the internet and the frequency of use have increased rapidly. The average consumer now spends 22.1 minutes online per day, logs onto the internet 6.5 times per week, and views 41 pages per internet session. The internet is currently used primarily for email and general information searches. These uses are not bandwidth-intensive. Beyond those baseline activities, greater amounts of bandwidth are used primarily for entertainment purposes, for example, peer-to-peer (P2P) applications, video-sharing websites such as YouTube, and online gaming. The greatest volume of internet traffic is used for streaming video and for P2P file transfer.
The increase in time spent online means that consumers are spending less time viewing or listening to traditional news and entertainment media such as television and radio.
Click below to visit the Synovate website.