How people consume mobile news depends on demographics

December 11, 2012

In the growing realm of mobile news, men, college graduates and the young are more engaged consumers than other demographic groups, says a study from the Pew Research Center. Young people consume far less news overall but still receive news on mobile devices to similar degrees as older users. And while the young generally have abandoned print, they prefer a print-like experience when reading news on an app, the study found.

Half of U.S. adults now own mobile devices, and most use them for news. More than 40 percent of men receive news daily on a smartphone or tablet, compared with about 30 percent of women. On tablets, men check news more frequently and are more likely to read in-depth articles and to watch news videos, the study found. Women are more likely than men to use social networks to access news. For people with less education, reading news on tablets is augmenting their overall news consumption, rather than replacing other formats.

People ages 18 to 29 who get news through tablets are far more likely than older users to touch or click on ads, while mobile-news users 50 and older are more inclined to pay for a news subscription. Lower-income households watch more videos on smartphones, while young people read more books and magazines on the devices, the study found. — Greg Beaubien