The Rise of the ‘Connected Viewer’

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Pew’s recent research shows that half of all adult cell phone owners in the US, now include their mobile devices into their television watching experiences. Television viewing is being supplemented by multi-screen interactivity. Half of all adult cell owners (52%) have used their phones recently for engagement, diversion, or interaction with other people while watching TV. Pew’s Research measured the importance of these multi-screen viewing experiences by asking the 88% of adults who are cell owners, whether they had used their phone to engage in several different activities while watching television. The findings are as follows:

  • 38% of cell owners used their phone to keep themselves occupied during commercials or breaks in something they were watching
  • 23% used their phone to exchange text messages with someone else who was watching the same program in a different location
  • 22% used their phone to check whether something they heard on television was true
  • 20% used their phone to visit a website that was mentioned on television
  • 11% used their phone to see what other people were saying online about a program they were watching, and 11% posted their own comments online about a program they were watching using their mobile phone
  • 6% used their phone to vote for a reality show contestant

Taken together, 52% of all cell owners are “connected viewers”—meaning they use their phones while watching television for at least one of these reasons.

Smartphone owners use their devices to interact with televised content at far higher rates than owners of more basic cell phones. Fully 74% of smartphone owners reported using their devices in one way or another while watching television in the preceding 30 days, compared with 27% of non-smartphone owners.

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Download Pew’s complete report here

Life Through a Lens–Photos and Videos Rule Online

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Pew Internet surveyed 1,005 adults (aged 18+) during August 2012 and discovered that photos and videos have become key social currencies online.

  • 46% of adult internet users post original photos or videos online that they themselves have created (Creators).
  • 41% of adult internet users take photos or videos that they have found online and repost them on sites designed for sharing images with many people (Curators).

Pew’s creator group is made up of those who have shared photos that they have taken themselves (45% of internet users) and those who have shared videos they have created themselves (18% of internet users).

The curator group is made up of those who have taken photos they found online and posted them on a site that is used for sharing images with others (35% of internet users) and those who have taken videos they found online and posted them on a video-sharing site that is used for sharing videos with others (25% of internet users).

The proliferation of smartphones, and online sharing apps have created a boom for users who wish you share their real world experiences online. Today, photo sharing websites such as Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr and their respective smartphone app versions, make sharing phones easy and a frictionless experience.

The continued growth of Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr

Of Pew’s sample size, they additionally found:

  • 12% of online adults say they use Pinterest, the popular social photo sharing site. Nearly a fifth of online women (19%) actively use Pinterest daily.
  • 12% of online adults say they use Instagram, a popular photo sharing site used by young adults. Some 27% of the internet users aged between 18-29 actively use Instagram.
  • 5% of online adults say they use Tumblr. 11% of young adults use this social blogging service.

The web has indeed become a more richer and colourful experience and marketers who able to find ways to connect to these trends will gain competitive advantages over those that still insist that apps such as Instagram are a passing fad. Women are more likely than men to use Pinterest, while Instagram and Tumblr attract equal shares of men and women