The company comScore has released the 2015 edition of the Global Digital Future in Focus Report. The report examines trends across the entire globe, while also analyzing data at the regional level and putting it into a broader context. The major topics covered in the report include the characteristics and behaviors of various digital users, including Millennials; the level of engagement with specific types of mobile apps, such as social-media ones; and the prevalence of multi-platform usage, which is across different kinds of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. The report uncovered the following trends.
- Residents of the United Kingdom are the heaviest users of desktop computers, in terms of the average amount of time spent on one each year. The United States is third, behind Canada. Among East Asian countries, Taiwan has the highest use. The country whose population spends the least amount of time using desktop computers is South Africa.
- Japan has the highest average online-video use, in terms of the number of minutes each person spends watching them. The United States is closer to the middle of the pack, although this may be due to Americans’ watching many shorter videos. The countries that spend the least amount of time watching online videos are India and the Philippines. The most popular category for videos is entertainment.
- The use of multi-platform and mobile-only programs is being driven by Millennials in virtually every region. Desktop-only use is less popular among this age group, although using desktops for instant-messaging is relatively common. Regionally, Latin America and East Asia have more youths using just desktops, while Europe has shifted to mobile-only use among the younger population.
- In Europe and adjoining countries, the Russian Federation and Germany have the highest percentage of desktop-only users, while Ireland and Norway have the lowest. Desktop-only use is evenly spread across age groups, with slightly more men than women using desktop computers. The most popular categories of programs are social media and entertainment.
- In Latin America, Brazil is the largest market for desktop users, by far, followed by Mexico. Uruguay and Puerto Rico are at the bottom. There is a steady decline in desktop use by age, and men are significantly more likely to use desktops than are women.
- In East Asia, China leads the way in desktop-only use by a substantial margin, with India in second. New Zealand and Singapore have the fewest users. As in Latin America, desktop-only use declines with age, and men are more likely than women to favor desktops.
- Across all three major regions, multi-platform use is having the largest impact on mobile use of newspapers. This transition is particularly pronounced is East Asia, while it is somewhat less so in Latin America. Particular publishers, also, are being affected by the shift in all three regions.
Three overall findings emerged from the study.
- An increasing use of mobile and multi-platform programs is leading to a significant jump in the total size of the “digital population”.
- Use of mobile devices among Millennials is making the multi-platform approach even more necessary for reaching individuals.
- Even though desktop use has declined as a percentage of total digital use, it is still a popular option across all geographic regions and age groups.
To access the report, go to http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2015/The-Global-Mobile-Report. You will need to complete a brief survey first.