Eleven percent of adults now own a tablet computer. About half get news on it everyday, and three in ten spend more time consuming news than they did before. But contrary to what some in the news industry hoped, a majority say they are not willing to pay for news content on the devices, according to the most detailed study to date of tablet users and their news consumption habits.
The study, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism in collaboration with The Economist Group, finds that the vast majority of tablet owners — fully 77% — use their tablet every day. They spend an average of about 90 minutes on them.
The study also finds some striking differences in tablet use versus other kinds of digital consumption. People, for instance, are highly likely to read long articles on their tablets, not just get headlines. But the expectation that people would gravitate to “apps” on their tablets — which they would pay for and which would offer a richer user experience — has not really come to pass, at least not yet. The study surveyed Americans at three levels or phases of detail to probe how they use their devices.
