Study: 25% Of Consumers Favor 'Entertaining' Content Over Accuracy
- by Wayne Friedman , October 5, 2015
While the importance of accurate media content is important for a majority of media consumers, a sizable percentage prefer “entertaining” content over accuracy. Some 25% of all consumers prefer “entertaining” content, with 75% saying that “accurate” content it more importance, a new Adobe study finds.
For Millennials, “entertaining” content is more important than accuracy versus other media consumer groups -- with 35% preferring entertaining content; 20% for Gen-Xers; and 10% for baby boomers.
In addition, the study says, a large percentage of consumers admit to being distracted when using two devices at the same time: 40% are distracted, while 60% are focused. Millennials are at the high end, with 48% distracted.
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Checking content for factual issues is not a concern for those who share, especially for Millennials. Nearly one in four (25%) do not regularly check facts before they post content.
At the same time, Millennials are most likely to question authenticity when it comes to observing online video/photos versus other consumer groups: 42% for Millennials, 37% for Gen Xers, and 28% for Baby Boomers. Similar results were revealed about whether an online photo has been altered.
The study says consumers use six devices on average and 12 sources of content. Millennials use seven devices on average and 14 sources of content.
The research analyzed data from 2,008 consumers age 18+during the period from Sept.12 through Sept. 16, with at least one digital device.
Those numbers on accuracy prefernce seem far higher than viewer/reader choices would seem to indicate. Not sure why Adobe has any experience to do this research. And, this is the kind of area where consumers respond in research based on what social constraints says they should say --- not with accurate reflection of their own actions...
I have a very, very hard time believing that 75% of consumers turn away from entertaining content in order to embrace less entertaining "accurate" content.
Goodness. Do you mean they care more about entertainment than accuracy when bingeing on Game of Thrones? Or is there, perhaps, some context missing here? This was neither entertaining now accurate as far as I can tell.
This study seems more about entertainment than accuracy. How was it done? What questions were asked? Doesn't level of accuracy depend on context, the type of content (e.g., news, sports, entertainment, video posted by people you don't know)?
This kind of research always shows that younger people "prefer" entertaining content over factual stuff or "accuracy"---whatever that means. Nothing new here. If you want a better indicator just check much more focused and subject-specific research and you will bne able to comapre general additudes with actual behaviour. TV news is an example. The average adult consumes about 5-5.5 hours of it per week, but younger adults watch less than half this amount while older ones watch twice as much. This spread is much wider than one sees for entertainment fare. All of which is fine but one must ask---"so what?"
Personally I found the report fell more in the 'entertainment' box that the 'accuracy' box.
Maybe the headline should have been that "75% of (online?) consumers want accuracy".
Reality TV. And how a reality boss wants to tell everyone what to do and rewrite history with a 25% lead and his stooly not far behind. 75% want accuracy ? Now, that's entertainment.