Smartphone devices can give access to thousands of articles instantaneously right in the palm of the hand. The news industry has had to change and is now distributing their content via multi-platform devices, like mobile phones, tablets, and laptops to keep the interest of tech-savvy audiences—especially the younger generation. What are the habits of digital news readers.
Across seven countries the report sampled—United States, Spain, U.K., Italy, France, Germany, Japan— 33 percent read the news on more than one platform, and having more platforms increase the chances of accessing news more frequently.
According to a University of Colorado-Boulder study based on a cohort of 517 students, the most common type of news checked by smartphone users is the weather (56 percent), followed by breaking news (52 percent), and national news (40 percent).
The majority (58 percent) prefer checking the news in a text-only format, instead of photo, video, and audio. About 33 percent prefer using news-specific apps such as AP Mobile, The New York Times App, or CNN mobile, than reading on news websites.
Out of the sample, an overwhelming majority would only read up to three paragraphs. Another 47 percent said the duration of reading would be 30 seconds or less, with only 13 percent reading the whole article.
As of May 2013, 91 percent of American adults own a cell phone; 56 percent have a smartphone, according to Pew Research.
Statista predicts that by 2016, there will be 192.4 million smartphone users in America, up from 137.5 million in 2013.
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