Commentary

Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is: '31,' The New '24'?

An "Alice in Wonderland" excerpt:

Alice sighed wearily. "I think you might do something better with the time," she said, "than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answers."

"If you knew Time as well as I do," said the Hatter, "you wouldn't talk about wasting it."

"I don't know what you mean," said Alice.

"Of course, you don't!", the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously. "I dare say you never even spoke to Time!"

"Perhaps not," Alice cautiously replied; "but I know that I have to beat time when I learn music."

"Ah, that accounts for it," said the Hatter. "He wont stand beating. Now if you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do almost anything you liked with the clock."

Taking the Mad Hatter's advice, I didn't ask Alice about time. I asked OTX, the global consumer insights and research consulting firm, whom I invited to present their new Longitudinal Media eXperience at the Carat Exchange in April.

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According to the behavioral, attitudinal, aspirational OTX LMX Study: "The 24 hour day has given way to 31 hours of daily activity, as consumers multi-task everywhere (home, work, on the go) at any time, while diverting their attentions across multiple media platforms to communicate, gather information and be entertained."

Most of the trades I've read suggested that people are sleeping less - compensating for more demands on their time. OTX did not concur. Their study indicated that people continue to average 8.1 hours of sleep per day regardless of the length of that day i.e., 31 hours vs. 24 hours.

The chart below delineates the number of daily hours expended in OTX's three-category multitasking day:

Category

24 Hour Day

31 Hour Day

+(-)

Sleeping

8.1

8.1

-

Leisure Activities*

7.6

12.1

+59.2%

Non Leisure Activities

8.2

10.4

+26.8%

Total

23.9

30.6

+28.0%

*Include television, video games, computer use, print (books, magazines, newspapers) and music as well as eating, socializing, sports/working out, toys, shopping, telephone and movies.

As illustrated above, the greatest changes occur (in real time), as one would surmise, in the Leisure Activity category where multitasking proclivities abound - approximately 4.5 hours daily, which is nearly 70% of the extended 31 hour day:

Category

24 Hour Day

31 Hour Day

+(-)

Sleeping

8.1

8.1

-

Leisure Activity

7.6

12.1

+59.2%

(Media)

(5.3)

(8.3)

+56.6%

(Non Media Leisure)

(2.3)

(3.8)

+65.2%

Non-Leisure Activity

8.2

10.4

+26.8%

(Working)

(3.1)

(3.4)

+9.7%

(School)

(0.8)

(0.9)

+12.5%

(Cooking/ Home Chores)

(1.1)

(1.5)

+36.4%

(Commuting)

(0.9)

(1.1)

+22.2%

(Grooming)

(0.5)

(0.6)

+20.0%

("Home" work)

(0.2)

(0.3)

+50.0%

(Something else)

(1.6)

(2.6)

+62.5%

To paraphrase Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit:

"One [media activity] makes time larger

And [multitasking activities] makes time small

And the media activities that mother gives you

Don't do anything at all.

Go ask Alice

When she's ten feet tall

Call [OTX]

To find out which [multitasking activities] make time just so small."

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