Yahoo and OMD issued the findings from the latest round of their ongoing
global research project in 16 countries that involves online surveys and
in-person interviews. What they found is that through technology and
multitasking families are cramming the equivalent of 43 hours of activity into a
24 hour day. They also found that the Internet (and mobile phones) are a
significant part of the fabric of daily family life.
Theres a lot of interesting material in the findings. The top level data can
be found in this
release.
The following data are some of the more interesting findings published (some
of this is verbatim from the release).
Families spend more time
online than watching TV:
- Using the Internet 3.6 hours
- Watching TV 2.5 hours
- Using instant messenger 1 hour
- Emailing 1.2 hours
- Listening to radio 1.3 hours
Other results:
More than half (55 percent) of survey respondents age 18-34 agreed that
without technology they "wouldnt be able to stay in touch with friends and
family." More than a third in the 18-34 age group said their social lives would
suffer without technology (34 percent) and that technology enabled them to
overcome shyness (36 percent).
Two thirds (66 percent) of U.S. families surveyed use the Internet to
research products, and 64 percent use a search engine every day. Families also
use the Internet to share photos (62 percent), make travel reservations (60
percent) and research health (61 percent).
Internet now a primary resource for various categories of
information, including some in local:
Families have adapted to new and changing media and technology, and now rely
on the Internet as their top source of information on travel, jobs, finance and
automobiles. Approximately half of respondents said they rely primarily on
television for news (50 percent) and comedy (43 percent). Magazines are a
significant source for celebrity gossip and other niche content. Newspapers are
viewed as a strong secondary source, after the Internet, for information with a
local flavor such as jobs, sports, concerts and events.
And
regarding advertising and media consumption...
Receptivity to advertising falls as ad channels become more personal. In the
U.S., respondents reported that they were most open to ads in magazines and
newspapers (72 percent), radio (60 percent) or TV (59 percent), and less
receptive to ads on mobile phones or MP3 players.
Curiously there was nothing in the release about ads online or in search.
Postscript: Since viewing the report itself, I have a couple
of things to add of interest:
Across the 11 categories of content that Yahoo-OMD explored (News, Travel,
Jobs, Music, Movies, Finance, etc.) the Internet was the preferred source in all
but two categories (News, Comedy/Humor), where TV was preferred with the
Internet second.
Survey respondents in the U.S. were more open to ads ("Its okay to find
advertising in each place") in traditional media than online or in mobile. The
mobile finding is broadly consistent with other research in the market, but
other studies have indicated people are open to paid-search ads and other forms
of online advertising if it is perceived to be "relevant."
