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Trends to Watch: News and
Information Consumption
Catholic News ServiceMarch 24th, 2011Washington, DC
Kristen Purcell, Ph.D.Associate Director,
ResearchPew Internet Project
• Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in Washington, DC
• Provide high quality, objective data to thought leaders and policy makers
• Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
• All findings are based on nationally representative telephone surveys of…
– U.S. adults age 18+ or U.S. teens ages 12-17
– Drawn from dual-frame (landline/cell phone) samples
The BasicsInternet Use, Mobile,
Social Networks, Apps
Online News ConsumptionPortable, Participatory, Personal
Local NewsLocal Goes Mobile
The Basics
Internet Use by Age
Teen data Sept 2009 Adult data Nov 2010
Internet Use by Age
Internet access is highest among…
Whites
College graduates
Those with household incomes above $50,000
High-speed (broadband) access in the home is also
most common in white, highly educated and more
affluent households
High-speed connection means
greater overall engagement in online activities, particularly activities like social
media
There Remains a Digital Divide
Cell phone use is on the rise
Teen data Sept 2009 Adult data Nov 2010
Cell Use is on the Rise
Laptops are becoming the computer of
choice
For the first time in 2010, adults 18-29 were more
likely to own a laptop than a
desktop
Percent of US adults 18+ who own each type of gadget…
85%
61% 57%
43%38%
7% 6%
Cell Phone Desktop Laptop MP3 Player Game Console Tablet Computer
e-Reader
Based on Nov 2010 and Jan 2011 Pew Internet Surveys
Tablet ownership among U.S. adults rose
from 4% to 7% between
September 2010 and January
2011
New Kids on the Block
Young Adults Lead the Way in Wireless Internet Use
Among adults who use their cell phone to go online…
Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
In April 2009, just 36% went online daily
via their cell phone
• Overall, wireless internet users are more engaged in online activities
• Half of all African-American adults in the US (48%) have used their cell phone to access the internet, compared with 40% of Hispanic adults and 31% of white adults
• Overall, African-American adults are the most active mobile internet users
• African-American mobile internet use is growing at a faster rate than non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics
Based on Sept 2009 Pew Internet Survey
Teen data Sept 2009 Adult data Nov 2010
Teens and young adults are the heaviest SNS users
SURPRISE! Among teens,
girls are no more likely than boys
to use SNS.
But among adults, women
use SNS at higher rates than
men.
Teen data Sept 2009 Adult data Nov 2010
Twitter is still much less popular than SNS
On the horizon…
In January 2011, 17% of adult
internet users said they use a geo-
location service or function such as
Foursquare or Google Latitude to share their location
with friends
84% use cell phones
35% have apps
24% use apps
All adults
35% of adults have apps on their phones, but only 24% say they actually use them
According to the Nielsen Mobile
Insights Survey, the most popular
apps are…
Games
News/Weather
Map/Navigation
Social Networking
Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
Planet of the Apps
11% of cell owners are not sure if their phone is equipped with apps
29% of cell owners have downloaded an app to their phone and 13% have paid to
download an app
Among those with apps, the average adult has 18 apps on his/her phone
App users are disproportionately male (57% male v. 43% female)
They are also more likely to be college graduates and have incomes of $75,000 or
more
18-29 year-olds make up one-quarter of the total U.S. adult population but almost half
(44%) of the app using population
Based on May 2010 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
Online News and Information
Industrial Age
Info was:
Scarce
Expensive
Institutionally oriented
Designed for consumption
Information Age
Info is:
Abundant
Cheap
Personally oriented
Designed for participation
The “New” Information Ecology
• Blurring line between “news” and “information”
• Information is “free”
• Information is “at my fingertips”
• Information is available when I want it
• Information is available from multiple sources
Nine in ten American adults (92%) get news/info from multiple
platforms on a typical day
For six in ten American adults (59%), one of those platforms is the internet
*Platforms include print newspapers, television, radio and the internet
Multiple Platforms are the Norm
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
71% of American adults ever get news or information online
The majority of ONC are under age 50
Compared to other adults, ONC are…
• more educated
• more affluent
• disproportionately white and Hispanic
• more likely to have broadband
Almost a third are under age 30
The median age of ONC is 40
Who Gets Their News Online?
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
% of ONC Who Use Each Type of Site on a Typical Day
Most Popular Online Sources for News and Information
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Most Popular Online News Topics
% of Online Adults Who Get News/Information Online About Each Topic
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Overall Coverage
51% of U.S. adults say there is currently enough coverage of religion and
spirituality
41% would like more coverage of religion
The only topic that more people want improved
coverage of is scientific news and discoveries
Most Popular Features of Online News Sites
% of ONC Who Say Each Feature is Important
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
The most popular
features allow people to
interact with, share, and
customize their news. This is especially true
for young adults.
How many websites, if any, do you routinely rely on for news
and information?
Do you have a favorite online news source, or do you not
have a favorite?
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Most People Get News from Multiple Sites
How many websites, if any, do you routinely rely on for news
and information?
Do you have a favorite online news source, or do you not
have a favorite?
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Most People Get News from Multiple Sites
Only 7% of all people who get news online have a favorite online news source they would
be willing to pay for
Four Styles of Online News Consumption
Efficient Grazers Most use multiple sites, and portals rank high as a favorite online news
feature
Hunters and Gatherers 71% go online specifically to get
news/information at least a few times a week
Serendipitous News Discoverers 80% come across news/information at least a few times a week while they are
online doing other things
News/Info Receivers 44% get news forwarded to them
through email, automatic updates and alerts, or posts on social networking
sites at least a few times a week
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Three P’s of Today’s Information Ecosystem
Portable
Participatory
Personalized
26% of adults (33% of cell owners) access news on their cell
phones
Among this population, 73% use social networking sites and
29% use Twitter
Typically a white male, age 34, employed full-time
One in ten adults gets news alerts sent to their phone
“On the Go” News Consumers
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
37% of internet users have contributed news content, commented on it, or
disseminated it via postings on social network sites
Half of all online African-Americans (46%) are news participators
Overall, 71% of internet users get news through email or posts on social network
sites
Remember…42% of ONC say being able to easily share material is a feature they look for
35% look for news sites where they can comment on stories
“News Participators”
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
28% of internet users have customized their homepage to include news of
particular interest to them
39% say being able to customize content is something they look for in a news
site
70% of adults say they are overwhelmed by the amount of news and information available today
“The Daily Me”
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Local News
Local News Enthusiasts Are…What is the Demand for Local News?39% of American adults say there is not
enough coverage of their state government in the news
38% say there is not enough coverage of their neighborhood and local community
(skews Gen Y)
Combined, 53% of adults are “local news enthusiasts”
Those who want more community coverage are more likely than other adults to…
*access the internet on a handheld device
*get news from a website that specializes in a particular topic
*say they need to follow the news for their job
*get news forwarded to them through email, automatic alerts/updates or posts on social network sites
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
Who are they?
They’re disproportionately young, affluent, highly educated, living in non-rural communities and newer residents
of their communities
More than a third say they and others like them can have a big impact on their
community
Half report using 6or more sources monthly to get local news and
information, more than double the number for other adults
75% use social network websites vs. just 42% of those who do not get local
information on their mobile device
They’re 4X more likely to use Twitter
Not All Local Topics Have Gone Mobile
CrimeCommunity events
Schools and educationPolitics
Cultural eventsSocial services
Just a small fraction of adults, if any, cited a mobile device as a primary
source for these topics
For now, mobile devices are a supplemental platform for local news, not a primary source for most topics
Would You Pay for Local News?
33% currently pay for local newspaper subscriptions, 1% for local news app, and 5% for access to local news in some other form
Takeaways
• How Mobile Devices are Changing Community Information Environments http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Local-mobile-news.aspx
• How the Public Perceives Community Information Systemshttp://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/08-Community-Information-Systems.aspx
• Generations and their Gadgetshttp://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Generations-and-gadgets.aspx
• Mobile Access 2010 http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010.aspx
• Understanding the Participatory News Consumer http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News.aspx
• Social Media and Young Adults http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx
Available at pewinternet.org
Kristen Purcell, Ph.D.Associate Director, Research
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
Twitter: @kristenpurcell
Thank You!
