New research data indicates that apart from voice calls and texting, smartphones are most frequently used to take pictures or videos. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – New research data indicates that apart from voice calls and texting, smartphones are most frequently used to take pictures or videos.
According to a survey conducted by the Media Research Center of the Korea Press Foundation with the participation of 1,020 adults in September 2015, 63.3 percent of the respondents answered that the smartphone features they used the most other than voice calls and text messaging were ‘taking pictures and videos’.
‘Checking the news’ ranked second (59.9 percent), followed by ‘SNS’ (55.3 percent), ‘listening to music’ (49.4 percent), ‘checking the weather’ (48.6 percent), ‘traffic information’ (47 percent), ‘shopping’ (40.0 percent), ‘GPS and maps’ (39.6 percent), ‘financial services’ (39.5 percent) and ‘games’ (35.8 percent).
The survey also revealed that 57 percent of the respondents spent more than two hours every day on their smartphone. They used their smartphones in their living room (69.2 percent), their bedroom (59 percent), at school or work (57.2 percent), while waiting (52.4 percent), on public transportation (51.9 percent), and in public spaces (36.7 percent).
When asked which media they used to check the news between the TV and smartphones, the share was 12.7 percent vs. 47 percent among people in their 20s, 27.3 percent vs. 45.8 percent among those in their 30s, 44.2 percent vs. 38.8 percent among 40 somethings, 53 percent vs. 24.3 percent among those in their 50s, and 62.4 percent vs. 20.3 percent among those over 60. The results showed that people tended to rely on their TV more as they got older.
The research center divided the respondents into three groups and measured their concentration levels when they were shown news in text, card news (news text in the form of flashcards accompanied with images), and video clips through smartphones.
The results showed that people were able to concentrate more on card news and video clips. Most people wanted to read the news again or search for related news after reading card news.
The center commented that the card news format is the most suitable format for a mobile platform. “It has a strong suit in having images and graphics, improving visual effects. Videos have visual effect, but time is taken to watch the whole clip and access to audio has limitations.”
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
