More startling is that time spent on mobile devices is now the same as time spent reading print newspapers and magazines combined. The average American spends an estimated 50 minutes a day staring at his cell phone, versus 30 minutes reading a print newspaper and 20 minutes reading a magazine. Of course, much of that time staring at mobile screens is reading news online so maybe when all is said and done people are actually reading more. Although what they are reading—Tweets, email, and text messages, along with articles— is not always the same as in the offline world.
Time spent on mobile devices shot up 28 percent in 2010, and that number will continue to rise. If you are reading this, you probably think these numbers are low. How much time a day do you spend looking at your mobile phone? I spend at least two hours a day, twice as much if I am commuting. And now I’m spending at least 30 minutes day on my iPad. I wonder which will happen first, time spent on the Internet passing time watching TV or mobile passing the (desktop) Internet.
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Authors: Erick Schonfeld