Moms and Media · May 8, 2014

Moms and Media 2014: Mobile Momentum

By Edison Research

It is a situation you don’t want to be caught in:  you leave the house, and forget your cell phone.  Dilemma:  do you get it, or forget it?  Go through the day feeling disconnected, out of touch and somewhat undressed?  No chance!  If you are a mom, you turn back and go get it.  After all, it is 2014–and according to our recent data, mobile is a must for moms.  The phone goes wherever she goes.

This mobile trend is highlighted throughout our latest report, Moms and Media 2014, where it is prevalent not only in the growing numbers for mobile device ownership, but also in the behavior change we see associated with it.  Habits like social networking, watching television and consuming online radio are directly impacted by the mobile lifestyle of moms.

According to this year’s report, which is drawn from the Infinite Dial series, 92% of moms own a cell phone and 69% of moms own a smartphone.  Smartphone ownership among moms continues to rise steadily and remains ahead of the total respondents 12+ from The Infinite Dial.

Moms and Media 2014 slides for Mobile Momentum blog post

Moms know the capabilities of their smartphones and they don’t want to be without them.  Smartphone moms keep their phones close, even more so than regular cell phone moms.  More than four -in- five (83%) of moms who own a smartphone said it is within arm’s length ‘always’ or ‘most of the time.’

Moms and Media 2014 slides for Mobile Momentum2

One of the biggest signals in moms’ shift to mobile is the significant difference in how they prefer to access Facebook.  In 2013, computer and cell phone were about equal, with roughly 45% of Facebook moms choosing each.   However in 2014, mobile has handily taken the title with 60% of moms saying they access Facebook most through cell phone.

Moms and Media 2014 slides for Mobile Momentum3

Moms continue to share their television viewing time with time surfing the Internet, doing so even more in 2014 than in 2013. More than three quarters (76%) of moms share some part of their television viewing with Internet while at home.  Mobile devices are contributing to this because they allow moms to tote tablets and smartphones from room to room and even couch to couch.

Moms and Media 2014 slides for Mobile Momentum blog post4

Even traditional habits like listening to radio are seeing a bit of a mobile influence.  Moms on the move want to take their music with them.  Online radio fits this need nicely.  On average, moms reported more than 12 hours of online radio listening in the last week.

Moms and Media 2014 slides for Mobile Momentum blog post5

The mobile momentum is apparent in these data points as well as throughout the entire report.  Download the full Moms and Media 2014 FINAL REPORT here, or view the Slideshare presentation below.

These data points were taken from The Infinite Dial 2014, from Edison Research and Triton Digital. The full study is available here, or on Slideshare.

How the Survey was Conducted:  A total of 2,023 persons were interviewed to investigate Americans’ use of digital platforms and new media.  From January 13 to February 12, 2014, telephone interviews were conducted with respondents age 12 and older who were selected via Random Digit Dial (RDD) sampling. The study includes a total of 808 cell phone interviews.

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