Nowadays, about 50% of mobile phone owners use their phone as their primary internet source. Mobile phones are how people go online, in other words. And according to a new study, personal computers and laptops aren’t the only things mobile devices are supplanting.
A new research report from Miner and Co. Studio reveals that televisions are no longer children’s preferred screen. More than half (57%) of surveyed parents said their kids prefer watching videos on mobile devices rather than TV.
In fact, children prefer mobile devices over TV so much so that almost half of the 800 surveyed parents said they confiscate their kids’ tablets when they act up, making them watch TV instead.
Children would even rather have a few more extra minutes of time on mobile devices than treats. About 41% of surveyed parents said their kids would choose extra time on a tablet than dessert.
Although the Mine and Co. Studio study did not look into the reason kids prefer mobile devices, another new study from Facebook IQ might have a possible explanation. When examining people’s engagement, attention, emotion, and retention after viewing the same advertising content on smartphones and TVs, researchers found that people were more attentive and tended to feel more positively toward information presented on a mobile phone, rather than on TV.
“With TV, people’s brains were more distracted and had to work harder to process the information,” said Helen Crossley, Facebook IQ head of audience insights. “We found that overall mobile was on par with TV with regards to emotional intensity and engagement. Having said that, emotions and engagement were significantly higher for a couple of the ads. People were equally likely to be as engaged on mobile as they were on TV.”
Dr. Christophe Morin, the CEO and founder of SalesBrain, which conducted the research on behalf of Facebook IQ, suggested that smartphones may have provided a more efficient, less energy-demanding experience because of its size. In other words, smartphones may be more preferred because they put less of an effort on the brain.
In other words, it’s easier to watch TV and movies on mobile devices, which could very well be the reason kids are now preferring them over actual televisions.
