[Survey of Media Use by Children and Parents] 3-1. Mothers' Media Activities (1) Length of Time and Percentage of Media Use - Data

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[Survey of Media Use by Children and Parents] 3-1. Mothers' Media Activities (1) Length of Time and Percentage of Media Use



The results of the analysis of mothers' media activities indicated that there was diversification in media usage as the length of time of media usage differed depending on the type of media. Further analysis done by age groups showed cohort (a group of people who have similar experience around the same time) specific characteristics in the length of time and percentage of use at 20s and under (the generation of mobile phone penetration), 30s (the generation of computer penetration), and 40s and above (generation of the golden age of television). In this Section, the mothers' activities regarding media will be discussed through the time-length and percentage of use for the six types of media (TV programs, videos/DVDs, console-type/handheld gaming devices, PCs, smartphones/mobile phones, and tablet devices).

Difference of time-length for use among mothers depending on type of device

Figure 3-1-1 shows the results of the length of time for use given as response by the mothers on a weekday at home, classified into non-users (0 minutes, including "do not own at home"), light users (less than an hour), moderate users (1-4hours), and heavy users (more than 4 hours).

"TV programs" are viewed by most mothers. Moderate users (57.2%) make up the highest percentage followed by light users (22.5%). In addition, the percentage of the heavy users' group "viewing more than 4 hours" (17.8%) is higher than that of other types of media.

Regarding "videos/DVDs," it mainly consists of non-users (45.0%), who don't watch them at all, and light users (39.0%), who watch them a little. As for "gaming devices (console-type/handheld)," the great majority were non-users (87.2%) who don't play games at all. Light users remained at 9.7%.

Regarding "PCs," the majority of mothers (53.5%) are light users who use them for a short time and the rest mainly consists of non-users (30.4%) and moderate users (13.3%). "Smartphones/mobile phones" are used by most mothers. The light users (65.6%) are the largest group followed by moderate users (20.3%), leaving very few non-users (9.7%). Regarding "tablet devices," the results are roughly divided into non-users (83.3%), who don't use them at all, and light users (11.8%), who use them a little.

Mothers' media usage is diverse

Table 3-1-1 shows the percentage of use based on the results of Figure 3-1-1 by calculating the sum of light users/moderate users/heavy users of the 6 types of media.

Looking at the overall percentage of use, it is clear that mothers use a wide range of media devices from "TV programs," an everyday type of media, to "videos/DVDs," "gaming devices (console-type/handheld)," "PCs," "smartphones/mobile phones," and the latest digital media "tablet devices."

Here, we compare the percentage of use of each media with the results from the "Survey on Time Spent for Information and Communication Media and Information Behavior 2012" (the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Institute for Information and Communications Policy, 2013, carried out targeting of 1,500 men and women aged 13-69). In the survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the percentage of use of each type of media equipment was "TV sets" 94.1%, "smartphones & feature phones (mobile phones)" 94.1%, "recording devices for DVDs and Blu-ray discs" 72.4%, "PCs" 71.3%, gaming devices 57.9% ("portable gaming devices" 28.0%, "video game consoles" 29.9%), and "tablet devices" 8.1%.

Even in this survey, "TV programs" marked up 97.5% and "smartphones/mobile phones" accounted for 88.7% also showing high percentages of use, indicating that "smartphones/mobile phones" are established everyday media for mothers as well as the 60-year-old "TV programs." Showing a similar tendency as that of the survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "PCs" marked up 68.0% indicating that they are part of mothers' daily life. On the other hand, "videos/DVDs" were used by 53.5% and "gaming devices (console-type/handheld)" by 11.1% of mothers, showing significantly lower rates than the survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The mothers in this survey seem to be relatively comfortable with using the latest digital media.

Figure 3-1-1 Comparison of length of time for media use by mothers

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Table 3-1-1 Percentage of media use by mothers

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Generational features are found in media activities and attitude

Since the age range of the mothers in this survey is wide (from the late teens to the 50s,) it is necessary to analyze by generation, as it is pointed out that there are marked features in each generation regarding their attitudes and activities. Therefore, the length of time and rate of each generation will be analyzed by clarifying the generational features of the relevant age group of this survey by referencing the "Media Innovation-Lab Insight Memo" (Dentsu, 2012).

"Generation 66 (born in 1966 and around 47 years old)" is called the latter new breed. This is the generation that enjoyed viewing TV programs as an entertainment media. They are "digital immigrants" who experienced the early days of PCs at around 20 years old.

"Generation 76 (born in 1976 and around 37 years old)" is called the second-generation baby-boomers, a generation which grew up during the time of wider diffusion of PCs. The PC operating system, Windows 95, was launched when they were around 20 years old and they have experienced the dawn of the Internet. They pick up the latest information from their PCs rather than TV programs. They are "digital natives" who surf the Internet with their PCs.

"Generation 86 (born in 1986 and around 27 years old)" is called the second-generation new breeds, a generation which grew up during the diffusion of the Internet and mobile phones. NTT DOCOMO's mobile Internet service "i-mode" was launched when they were in high school and they subsequently discovered the world of the Internet through their mobile phones. They gather information using mobile phones rather than PCs, and have experienced the dawn of mobile media and social media. They are "the early neo-digital natives" who surf the Internet with their mobile devices.

"Generation 96 (born in 1996 and around 17 years old)" manages multiple devices as they experience the development stage of social media. They are "neo-digital natives" who handle video information as they like.

Cohort difference is seen in mothers' length of time and percentage of use

Based on the previously mentioned classification by generations, the length of time and percentage of use by mothers will be discussed. Figure 3-1-2 and Table 3-1-2 show the segmented data by age groups: under 20s, 30s, and over 40s.

"TV programs" mark a high percentage of use for all age groups (light users + moderate users + heavy users: under 20s 99.4% / 30s 97.7% / over 40s 97.4%) and more than half belong to the moderate user group regarding the length of time (under 20s 59.5%, 30s 56.4%, over 40s 57.8%). On the other hand, there is a generational gap among the heavy users, as those aged under 20 account for 28.6%, which is more than twice the rate of those over 40s' marking 13.4%. There are no clear differences among age groups in the time-length and rate of usage for "videos/DVDs" and "gaming devices (console-type/handheld)."

As for "PCs," the differences among age groups can be seen in the time-length and rate of usage between the 40s, a transitional generation between "Generation 66" and "Generation 76", and the 20s, "Generation 86." The percentage of use for over 40s is 78.0% but 60.8% for under 20s. The non-user group for PCs aged under 20 is larger accounting for 37.9% compared to the equivalent aged over 40s at 20.6%.

The item "smartphones/mobile phones" shows a contrary tendency to that of "PCs." The rate of use for under 20s reaches 93.1% while it only marks up 82.1% for over 40s. Regarding the length of time, 40.5% are moderate users and 11.5% are heavy users for those aged under 20s, while only 9.6% are moderate users and 1.1% are heavy users for those aged over 40.

In the previously mentioned survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, differences between age groups were found in the following percentages of uses of smartphones; 20s 68.4% > 30s 49.0% > 40s 28.8% > 50s 13.7%, and feature phones (mobile phones); 20s 44.4% < 30s 64.5% < 40s 75.2% < 50s 85.1%. In this survey, smartphones and mobile phones were classified together as one but it can be assumed that differences between Generation 66, 76, and 86 would have been prominent if they had been asked respectively. There are no differences among age groups in the use of "tablet devices" at the current stage, but depending on its future prevalence their generational features may become clear.

Figure 3-1-2 Length of time for media use by mothers (by age groups)

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Table 3-1-2 Percentage of media use by mothers(by age groups)

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