Tablets and the Future of News
Eighteen months after the introduction of the iPad, 11% of U.S. adults now own a tablet computer of some kind. Nearly half (53%) get news on their tablet every day and read long articles as well as get headlines. However, a majority say they would be unwilling to pay for news content on these devices, according to a comprehensive study on tablet users and how they interact with this new technology.
The study, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism in collaboration with The Economist Group, has found that the vast majority of tablet owners (77%) use their tablet every day and average about 90 minutes a day on them. Consuming news (everything from the latest headlines to in-depth articles and commentary) ranks as one of the most popular activities on the tablet, about as popular as sending and receiving email (54% email daily on their tablet), and more popular than social networking (39%), gaming (30%), reading books (17%) or watching movies and videos (13%). The only activity that people indicated they were more likely to do on their tablet daily is general web browsing (67%). The survey also found that 30% of those who consume news on their tablets (out of the 77% of all tablet users who get news at least weekly) indicated they spend more time getting news than they did before they had their tablet. Just 4% say they spend less time while two-thirds (65%) spend about the same amount of time. Nearly a third of tablet news users say they are turning to new sources for news on their tablet, sources they had not turned to on other platforms such as television or their desktop computer. And, more than four in ten (42%) say they regularly read in-depth news articles and analysis on their tablet. Tablet news users also say they now prefer their new devices over traditional computers, print publications or television as a way both to get quick news headlines and to read long-form pieces.
Sources
Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. (2011, October 25). The Tablet Revolution | Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ). Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) | Understanding News in the Information Age. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/tablet
