Smartphone video viewing now 2.5 hours a day.

[Tailgate]

I don't believe this group to be anywhere near 'average' in media consumption or early tech adoption, but this is another 'wow' in terms of the general pop.

Viewing video on smart device is now almost HALF of TV viewing on a daily basis… doubles in one year! I remember sitting around a conference table at the TV station I worked for, agreeing that ‘nobody’ would ever spend time watching video on a small cell phone screen…that was when nobody in the meeting had a phone that could actually connect to the internet. Fast forward to a time when most people are, at most, arms length from their smartphone or tablet. By the time a news program airs the latest 'breaking news', most folks have already seen it 2 or 3 times via an app. or on social media.

Not saying if this is 'good or bad'... just sayin' it is what it is. How much video do you watch on a smartphone?


“In a report out June 2, Barclays media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar noted that the average person watched 2.5 hours on a smartphone in the fourth quarter — up from 1.3 hours a year earlier. That compared with 4.9 hours on TV.
For viewers in the demo, the smartphone was more popular than TV, something he called a “considerable shift” in consumption patterns."


Study shows networks are losing viewers to their cell phones | New York Post

 

[DrRoy]

I never watch TV shows on my phone. That's what I have a TV for.

 

[Sojourner]

I never watch TV shows on my phone. That's what I have a TV for.

+1

Never, ever, ever watch video on my phone. My need / desire for watching a video is never so great that I can't wait until I'm home to watch it on my 70" 4K flat screen with surround sound. When traveling, sometimes I do watch shows via Netflix on my laptop or tablet when there is not a good TV option available.

 

[stepford]

and how much time do we spend on our "grandpa boxes"...

 

[audreyh1]

I've been watching quite a bit of video on the iPad or laptop lately, but this is because I am taking Dutch lessons.

I don't "watch TV" in the sense of watching what ever happens to be on. I only watch streamed content when I care to, and it's usually less than 2 hours a day - more likely just 1 hour. If the TV is available for some reason (like if I'm traveling), I happily stream to my iPad mini. The retina display is quite acceptable for high quality videos.

Actually, the other day I did watch some videos on my iPhone! I was walking on the treadmill in the clubhouse, and I was mostly listening to some Dutch language videos. That worked well.

It may be a portability thing for the iPhone watchers!!!

 

[audreyh1]

and how much time do we spend on our "grandpa boxes"...

LOL!

 

[W2R]

Not saying if this is 'good or bad'... just sayin' it is what it is. How much video do you watch on a smartphone?

None. This is one reason why I chose a new cell phone plan with just 1 GB data.

With all the devices that most people have in 2017, I don't see the point of choosing the tiniest on which to watch video.

Besides, I don't really watch much TV or many movies if any, on any device. I do watch youtubes and various imbedded videos in internet news stories, through my browser on my laptop or on my iPad.

I'd really rather read most news stories than watch a video of the same information, but that is becoming harder and harder to do these days with all the popups, ads, and automatic playing of videos and so on. But that's another topic.

 

[Tailgate]

and how much time do we spend on our "grandpa boxes"...

Bingo!

 

[JoeWras]

And they have PSA's on TV showing families the destructiveness of having devices open at dinner, and suggesting "Device Free Dinner."

... but nobody is seeing the PSA because they are watching their device instead!

 

[pj.mask]

I "watch" 4-5 hours some days at work - I stream music over YouTube with my phone screen down.

 

[Amethyst]

It's fun to make fun of grandpa's big screen, when your eyes are younger than 45.

Nothing, so far, has been discovered to prevent or cure presbyopia.

 

[Sojourner]

and how much time do we spend on our "grandpa boxes"...

As a former full-time software developer, I can tell you that this particular Dilbert strip is way off the mark. Unless things have changed drastically in the past 3 years, I don't know of a single developer that does all (or even a small percentage) of their daily work on a phone or tablet. The form factor of these tiny devices is way too small and cramped and awkward to sit for hours and hours typing hundreds of lines of code. I suppose if you really wanted, you could do it by connecting a physical keyboard to your phone via Bluetooth, but I think I've seen someone do that maybe once in the past 5 years. Long live the desktop and laptop!

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Maybe cause im old, or fat, or something, but i need a big device to see things. My laptop is 17 inches. I cant imagine watching something on a little screen. I dont watch shows/movies on my laptop either i watch it on my television. Full disclosure i dont have an iphone. we have a tablet the bride uses. i cant handle that thing, its like a toy

 

[athena53]

I watch video news podcasts on my phone (downloaded, not streamed). I've also gotten away from watching the hotel TV when I travel- I have Netlflix on my tablet and it's free of commercials!

A frequent topic of e-Rewards surveys (I take them and get Hilton points) is TV-watching habits, including time spent on-line streaming from various devices.

 

[JoeWras]

As a former full-time software developer, I can tell you that this particular Dilbert strip is way off the mark. Unless things have changed drastically in the past 3 years, I don't know of a single developer that does all (or even a small percentage) of their daily work on a phone or tablet. The form factor of these tiny devices is way too small and cramped and awkward to sit for hours and hours typing hundreds of lines of code. I suppose if you really wanted, you could do it by connecting a physical keyboard to your phone via Bluetooth, but I think I've seen someone do that maybe once in the past 5 years. Long live the desktop and laptop!

Agree. But I still love the joke! There's some truth in it.

The trend with developers is BIG screens, and hopefully at least 2. You need a bunch of windows to code, test, monitor tests, look up stackoverflow, etc.

Take a look at a google office. I don't see these youngsters working on phones. This setup is pretty representative of what is out in the SW development world right now:

 

[Walt34]

None on a smartphone and to my knowledge DW doesn't either. My phone is a tracfone that is barely more advanced than a flipphone so while I imagine it is possible, it would use too much data to justify using it for that purpose. The only time I see a TV anymore is at the gym, I just watch stuff on youtube and Amazon Prime. I'm thinking of a Netflix subscription but haven't really felt the need for that yet.

 

[euro]

Neither DW nor I watch ANY. Together with all the responses to the thread at or near zero, I conclude that there are a whole lot of people who vastly exceed the 2.5h. Blows my mind!

 

[OldShooter]

When our puppy was six or eight months old we had ten minutes of amusement as she tried to figure out where those people in the box were. Looked on the sides, looked in back. Total mystery!

The other amusement was realizing that she had been living in our house the whole time and this was the first time we had the TV turned on. We are not TV watchers, grandpa box, tablet, or smartphone. DW reads most of her books in the Kindle app on her tablet, but neither of us watches any significant TV. Too much other more interesting stuff to do and lots of worthwhile books to read. YMMV, of course.

 

[respond2u]

As a former full-time software developer, I can tell you that this particular Dilbert strip is way off the mark. Unless things have changed drastically in the past 3 years, I don't know of a single developer that does all (or even a small percentage) of their daily work on a phone or tablet. The form factor of these tiny devices is way too small and cramped and awkward to sit for hours and hours typing hundreds of lines of code. I suppose if you really wanted, you could do it by connecting a physical keyboard to your phone via Bluetooth, but I think I've seen someone do that maybe once in the past 5 years. Long live the desktop and laptop!

Yep. Most software developers I know have two or more screens.

As for the video viewing, it's Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc. among the young folks that my daughter knows.

 

[misanman]

Some of my grandkids lay on the couch for hours watching YouTube videos on their phones. Maybe they are skewing the numbers.

 

[Sojourner]

Some of my grandkids lay on the couch for hours watching YouTube videos on their phones. Maybe they are skewing the numbers.

At the risk of sounding very old (I'm "only" in my late 40s), I honestly do not get the appeal. Sure, I watch YouTube videos occasionally, but only on large screens where I don't have to strain my eyes or listen to the sound on tinny, underpowered speakers. And I never watch for hours on end... or even a full hour, honestly.

I suppose if I were really bored and trapped somewhere for a long time, with only my phone for entertainment, I might fire up some videos and watch for a while... but that happens so rarely.

Maybe YouTube/Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat videos are today's version of those portable, handheld video games that were all the rage when I was a kid. Anyone remember those? I'll bet our elders at the time were shaking their heads wondering why anyone would spend hours upon hours playing with those little beeping plastic boxes every day.

 

[braumeister]

It's a very distinct generational difference.

I was struck the other day by an article saying that Uber and the like are NOT the answer for older people who can't drive any more.

The reason is because …

[this is the part that threw me]

… only about a third of Americans over 65 own smartphones.

 

[euro]

It's a very distinct generational difference.

I was struck the other day by an article saying that Uber and the like are NOT the answer for older people who can't drive any more.

The reason is because …

[this is the part that threw me]

… only about a third of Americans over 65 own smartphones.

I agree, but I think it will change - Uber, etc are the obvious solution to the "giving up the car = giving up freedom" dilemma that will hit most (or all) of us eventually. We just had this conversation with my 85year old MIL and she is eager to try it out.
We have a neighbor whose driving has become very erratic and unsafe. She drives a Suburban (!!!) and complains that she can't afford the insurance/taxes/maintenance anymore. She only drives to the grocery store once a week and to the doctor maybe once a month. She could save MASSIVE amounts of money by using Uber (of course she could save a lot by using a taxi too, but for some reason, she can't bring herself to "pay that much". It's a no-brainer for her to do Uber - but you are right, in her case, she doesn't know how to use her smartphone, so there would be a learning curve.

 

[Amethyst]

The oldsters (70's) on our Tauck tour had their noses in their smartphones constantly while on the bus. At least it kept the bus quiet.

I found it interesting that not all of them were wearing glasses to use their phones. Shoulda asked them which type of cataract lens they'd gotten

 

[Dawg52]

Every now and then when out of town I might watch a short Youtube video. I too have a limited data plan and that encourages me to keep it short. At home there is no need to use it when I can watch on my tv.