Heavy users of social or mobile media spend dramatically more time with overall media, and are more likely to use TV and the Internet simultaneously, according to findings of new research being
released this morning by Knowledge Networks.
The study, which is derived from KN's MultiMedia Mentor service, a single-source sample that tracks how consumers use eight key media,
found that the impact of social and mobile media was most pronounced among older adults - people age 35 to 64 - who can spend nearly three hours more daily consuming media than the general population
(see table below).
KN said differences were also found among younger adults - age 18 to 34 - but were not as pronounced as the affect on older adults.
"For young adults, cell
phones and the Internet are often a way of life - so their use of mobile and social media is more pervasive and natural," stated Robert DeFelice, vice president-client service at KN,who previewed
the findings during a KN conference about cross-media measurement in New York on Wednesday. "But older adults have come to digital media late in the game - so there is a more pronounced divide
between those who make extensive use of digital media and those who just dabble. We also see that these digital media users are more likely to be 'creating' media time by using TV and the
Internet simultaneously - which, of course, creates a host of opportunities for synergy between these two platforms."
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Mobile & social media users, ages 35
to 64:
Dramatic differences in overall media time
| General population | Social media users (“yesterday”) | Mobile media users
(“yesterday”) |
Time spent
with media (average day) | 11 hours,
17 minutes | 13 hours,
37 minutes | 14 hours,
12 minutes |
Time above
gen pop average | -- | 2 hours,
20 minutes | 2 hours,
55 minutes |
Source: Knowledge Networks' MultiMedia Mentor.