Total Internet Usage by Platform in Minutes (Billions)) | ||
| Billion Minutes | |
Platform | Feb 2010 | Feb 2013 |
Tablet | - | 115 |
Smartphone | 63 | 308 |
Pc | 388 | 467 |
Total minutes | 451 | 890 |
Source: comScore Media Metrix, April 2013; Feb 2013 Mobile is estimated based on earliest observed comScore smartphone engagement data calibrated by number of smartphone users at that time. |
Smartphones alone account for 50% of online time for the two above-mentioned groups. Interestingly, while smartphones only account for a relatively small 25% of online time for Americans aged 50 and older, tablets grab 16% share, the highest among the age groups.
The share of internet time represented by mobile devices differs greatly from one category to the next. For example, together they account for just 24% of time online with the automotive category and 32% of time spent with TV sites (an outsized 20% of which is on tablets). By contrast, two-thirds of social media time goes to smartphones and tablets, as does 82% of online gaming time and 92% of online radio time.
Online Share of Minutes (by Content) | |||
| Platform (% of Time Online) | ||
Content | Smartphone | Tablet | Internet |
Radio | 77% | 15% | 8% |
Games | 48 | 34 | 18 |
Technology | 64 | 16 | 20 |
Social media | 58 | 9 | 33 |
Weather | 55 | 9 | 36 |
Retail | 35 | 16 | 49 |
Lifestyles | 32 | 18 | 50 |
Entertainment | 39 | 11 | 50 |
Health | 40 | 6 | 54 |
Food | 28 | 17 | 55 |
Sports | 31 | 7 | 62 |
News/information | 31 | 7 | 62 |
TV | 12 | 20 | 68 |
Business/finance | 29 | 3 | 68 |
Automotive | 16 | 8 | 76 |
Total Internet | 39 | 12 | 49 |
Source: comScore Media Metrix, April 2013 |
The US “digital universe,” referring to the number of adults going online, is 194 million per month, according to the report. Of those, about 122 million use both a PC and a mobile device, while PC-only users number 58 million and mobile-only 14 million. Those figures are heavily influenced by older internet users. While 17-22% of internet users aged 18-49 are PC-only, that figure jumps to 48% of those aged 50 and older.
While only 17% of online women aged 25-49 are PC-only, a greater proportion of online males of that age are so-called “screen jumpers” (mobile and PC users), at 74% share. That’s because a significant 14% share of women aged 25-49 are mobile-only.
The Digital Universe (% of Audience) | |||||
| Total Audience | People 18-24 | Males 25-49 | Women 25-49 | People 50+ |
PC only | 30% | 22% | 20% | 17% | 48% |
Screen jumpers PC+Mobile | 63 | 65 | 74 | 69 | 51 |
Mobile only | 7 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 1 |
Source: comScore Media Metrix, April 2013 |
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