We all know it. We live with it.
Mobile is here.
And you already know it.
No surprise: Those quaint little flip phones are a distant memory and now we text and surf at high speed on the information superhighway whenever we want. You also probably have noticed that younger users are the biggest users of mobile; you probably assume that smartphones outpace tablets; and you might have noticed that you use an app on your phone or tablet more often than you use a browser.
Up until now, you only knew this anecdotally. Here at the MESMERO we are going to give you FACTS so that you can impress your friend (or 'friends' if you're on Facebook).
Just keep reading and enjoy a few insights from comScore Media Metrix that capture this very fast and influential trend that is causing all of us to strain our necks and make driving that much more dangerous.
1: MOST OF OUR ONLINE TIME IS NOW MOBILE
Yes, its true. Most of our time with the internet is now on a phone or tablet.
2: APPS OUTPACE BROWSERS ON MOBILE
I'm not surprised that we spend more time in apps than browsing on our phones. The fact that still so many websites are hard to read and navigate in a browser on a phone or tablet makes using an app a much better experience, however, it is surprising that just a mere 13% of our time is spent in browsers versus apps
For a potential explanation for 'why', see #5 below.
3: SMARTPHONES OUTPACE TABLET USE BY OVER FIVE TIMES
Another shocker (not) is that most of us area also using a smartphone instead of a tablet to go online. No surprise....our smartphone is attached to our body, while a tablet is pesky thing that always gets lost or misplaced somewhere in the house.
4: IT'S TRUE, 18-34 YEAR OLDS REALLY DO SPEND MORE TIME MOBILE
I don't expect this to be a surprise to anyone: adults 18-34 spend 50% more time with mobile versus a computer that those over 55. But it's important to realize that persons over 55 still spend nearly 20% of of their device time with a mobile device - so this i s not just a trend for the young. Adults over 35 still spend most of their online time with desktop computers (which may be explained in the below chart) but for 35-54 year olds...just barely...
5: PLAYING AND TEXTING DOMINATE MOBILE USE
The below is the most fascinating of all the charts as it reveals what we do on one device or another; and we clearly have preferences.
The most obvious takeaway is that mobile devices are for goofing off. Yep, look at the top categories for mobile use: Entertainment, Social Media, Games (!!!), and Instant Messaging. Compared to desktop...well it's a different story: Portals (?) and Email are still primarily desktop experiences.
Email is fascinating. Several years ago there was concern that apps like Facebook would make E-mail obsolete. And to some extent, it has (mostly for younger demos), but none of us really want to put use our Facebook profile on a resume, so email lives on. I also expect it has something to do with your profession and the amount of time you spend at work. So it might be somewhat speculative but it seems logical and certainly empirical to image that the desktop is not dead yet, particularly in the workplace.
As I mentioned above regarding app versus browser usage it's easy to see why app usage is so much higher when you see the type of things people do a LOT of on their phones or tablets: Social media, instant messaging, and games are big app-driven categories.
I TOLD YOU YOU ALREADY KNEW ALL THIS
So there you have it. Like the title of this post says, these are five mobile trends you might have already known, but now you have data and charts to back it up! Remember to thank MESMERO when you show off your validated mobile trend knowledge at your next cocktail party.