Sales for smartphones, tablet computers and e-readers continue to increase but Canadians are spending less time on the devices than they were a year ago, according to Ipsos Reid’s Spring 2012 Mobil-ology study of the mobile market, which was released earlier this week.
“Initially, seasonality was suspected as a cause of this reported behaviour,” said Ipsos Reid senior vice-president Mary Beth Barbour. “However, the average duration of use has failed to return to the higher levels recorded a year earlier in spring 2011. This is beginning to suggest a potential shift in usage patterns.”
Peter Chow-White, who is associate director of the Centre for Policy and Research in Science and Technology in Simon Fraser University’s School of Communication, believes he has an explanation.
“Past polls would be dominated by early adopters who would be high users of technology,” he said. “The users in the current study would probably be more everyday users who spend less time, on average, on technology use, including mobile devices.”
On a typical weekday, Canadians in spring 2012 reported spending 2.8 hours per day on their smartphone. That’s down significantly from the 3.3 hours they reported in spring 2011, Mobil-ology study. Significant drops were also reported for hours spent on tablet computers (2.4 hours compared with 3.2 hours in spring 2011) and e-readers (1.8 hours compared with 2.1 hours).
