News consumption habits revealed in shocking research
New research looking into the news consumption habits of Brits reveals that we are a news-obsessed nation. The research shows that nearly half of adults (49%) check the news in bed, 6% of adults check the news after sex and 13% of adults check the news in the bath.
Tickaroo commissioned a survey in collaboration with Opinium to look at the changing landscape of digital media. 2,000 adults in the UK participated in the survey and the results showed a seismic shift in news consumption behaviour across new and old mediums.
Will our future be broadcasted in the metaverse?
The UK public believe that the future of news is in the metaverse, according to a new report by Tickaroo, a live blogging solution that’s revolutionising the way media companies report live news. The report found that more than a quarter (27%) of Brits believe that the news will be delivered through the Metaverse within the next 5 – 10 years, highlighting the global shift in digital media consumption.
By contrast, newspapers were found to be facing a bleaker future according to consumers, with only 25% of respondents predicting their relevance in 10 years’ time. However, the ever ubiquitous TV is still considered a timeless staple for news consumption particularly amongst the older generation with those aged 55 and over reporting to consume the news most through the TV (39%), in comparison to only 16% who use their phones.
However, with digital news aggregators and social media platforms currently rife with fake news, the concept of news through the metaverse could be threatened by the UK public’s general distrust of the media. The research found 38% of Brits already harbour a lack of trust in the media, with scepticism more prevalent among the younger generations. While two thirds (65%) of those aged 55 and over trust the news, only 56% of those aged 18-34 said the same.
Politics is peaking in interest: Brits predict WW3 is impending
When it comes to the topics of choice, politics was identified as the most popular one favoured by 58% of respondents. In fact, over a third (37%) predict that World War 3 will be the biggest news story of the year, while 14% think we are in for another COVID variant. On the whole though, the majority of UK adults (70%) very much consider receiving breaking news as very important, with half of them (49%) admitting to even routinely checking the news in bed. Habits like doom scrolling have become the go-to practice when it comes to news consumption, with over four-fifths (83%) of Brits saying they check the news daily. Interestingly, 3% of Brits never check the news.
Commenting on the survey findings, Tickaroo’s CEO and Co-Founder, Naomi Owusu, said: “Driven by the rapid advancements in technology, news consumption habits are rapidly evolving forcing media outlets to find new ways of keeping consumers engaged as we move further and further into this new digital age. With the UK public becoming increasingly more tech-savvy, traditional media outlets risk being left behind if they do fail to embrace technology in their quest to find faster, smarter and more convenient ways of delivering news.”
Naomi Owusu continued: “The Covid-19 pandemic has also significantly impacted the way consumers interact with media. People have started to develop unhealthy habits such as doom scrolling in bed. The act of endlessly scrolling for news, good or bad, can cause people to spend hours at a time in front of their screens. Consumers can still read the news – but instead look to live blogging journalism to provide concise and engaging news content on topics they are interested in, promoting healthier habits when it comes to consuming news.”
Summary of findings:
– General trust in media and news consumptions habits shows generational split
– It seems scepticism is more prevalent among younger ages – while two thirds (65%) of those aged 55 and over trust the news, only 56% of those aged 18-34 said the same
– Overall though more Brits say they trust the news (62%) than don’t (38%)
– Perhaps as a nod to younger readers, respondents said that the ideal length of an article would be 368 words, and are on average spending 5 minutes and 42 seconds reading news articles
– Politics is the most popular topic of news for UK consumers, highlighting the current political climate
– The most popular areas of interest news readers have is in politics (58%), sports (33%) and technology (26%)
– There is a gender divide in the top three interest areas, while both have politics as the most popular (62% of men and 54% of women), women’s second choice is culture (29%) and celebrity/ showbiz (25%) coming in third, whilst men’s second and third choice are Sports (51%) and Technology (39%) respectively
– Over a third (37%) predict that World War 3 will be the biggest news story of the year, while 14% think we are in for another COVID variant
About Tickaroo:
Tickaroo (tickaroo.com) is a multimedia liveblogging platform. Tickaroo’s software solution “Live Blog” is targeted toward media houses, larger companies, and professional sports reporters. With this product, the Regensburg-based company provides a live-content software solution that combines professional digital storytelling and live reporting. Customers include Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Mediacorp. Over 72,000 journalists rely on its digital publishing software, which is available as a native app and web application.
