Spare time being changed by mobile technology

UK — Reading newspapers and books and calling friends are losing out to using mobiles to check emails, browse the internet and play games — as people turn to connected activities in their spare moments, according to research from the Future Foundation.

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The findings are part of the Future Foundation’s nVision Research looking at how British consumers spend time on popular activities. When asked ‘when you have a spare 20 minutes while out and about, which of the following do you do?’ the most popular response was nothing/just relax but the other responses all demonstrated how time spent out of the home has been affected by connected mobile technology.

Preference for activities involving smartphones – such as checking email, browsing the internet and playing games – have grown consistently since 2009. More than 30% would check email in 2014.

In comparison, more traditional ‘analogue’ activities are declining – most notably reading a newspaper or book. In 2009, more than 40% said they’d read a newspaper compared with about 20% in 2014.

The Future Foundation has identified the trend — Smart Boredom — where dead time is increasingly being eliminated from people’s lives, as even the smallest moments of time can be filled with a smartphone-related activity.

It identified six types of people: relaxers ( 42%) who are predominantly older and still relax in spare moments; newspaper readers ( 14%); email and internet ( 13%) — they are spread across the ages, guided by phone activity; gamers ( 13%) who are predominantly younger; music ( 12%) and multi-taskers ( 7%) who tend to be younger and more likely to be male, often feeling under time pressure.

And the digital distraction is also evident in the bedroom. Three quarters of 16 – 34 year olds say they browse the internet in bed; 43% of employed people check their work emails and 61% of Gen Y respondents watch TV.

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Mike Thompson

Before any comment can be made it really is necessary to state: Type of sampling eg random location, access panel Type of interviewing CAPI, CATI web etc Sample size Othewise it is not even worth reading

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Parimal Makwana, Future Foundation

This research was conducted online to a sample of 5,000 GB respondents and is weighted to be nationally representative. The analysis is based on a question that was part of a 20 minute questionnaire that was in field in February 2014

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