Respondents With Smartphone or Tablet (% of Respondents Q1 2013; Had Device In Week Before Survey) | |
Age group | % of Respondents |
Total | 64% |
18-24 | 85 |
25-34 | 83 |
35-44 | 80 |
45-54 | 73 |
55-64 | 49 |
65+ | 25 |
Source: Reynolds Journalism Institute, August 2013 |
The percentage of smartphone and/or media tablet users who said they used one or both mobile devices to read, view or listen to digital content within news websites or news apps during the previous week jumped from 62% in 2012 to 70% in 2013.
Respondents Using Smartphone and Tablets For News Websites or Apps in 2013 | |
Device(s) | % of Respondents |
Smartphone and/or Tablet | 70% |
Smartphone only | 63 |
Smartphone + Tablet | 82 |
Tablet only | 54 |
Source: Reynolds Journalism Institute, August 2013 |
Most of the growth can be attributed to tablets. More than half (55%) of smart-phone and/or tablet news consumers in 2013 used a media tablet with or without a smartphone. In 2012, three-quarters of the news consumers in this grouping used only a smartphone.
Women are moving closer to parity with men in the use of mobile media, especially in the use of tablets, says the report. In 2013, as in 2012, women were much more likely to have used only a tablet; whereas men were much more likely to have used only a smartphone. In 2013, women also were nearly equal to men in their use of tablets with smartphones for news. A year earlier, less than a quarter (24%) of the smartphone + tablet news consumers were women.
Digital News Consumers By Gender & Device (Q1 2013) | ||
Device(s) used | Men | Women |
Smartphone and/or Tablet | 54% | 46% |
Smartphone only | 60 | 40 |
Smartphone + Tablet | 52 | 48 |
Tablet only | 38 | 62 |
Source: Reynolds Journalism Institute, August 2013 |
For more information from RJI, please visit here.
My cellphone plan allows me to set up a mobile hotspot without additional charge, so having an iPad tethered to my iPhone makes the need for old-fashioned print obsolete and a whole lot less expensive.