Affinity is a media research firm specializing in magazine audience measurement and accountability tracking. Its American Magazine Study (AMS) profiled the usage of mobile devices across different generations.
The AMS study, which revealed definite generational patterns, targeted the owners of the e-Reader, tablet PC, and the smartphone. The findings have special relevance for companies that marketed mobile devices to three generational segments, the Millennials, Gen-Xers, and Baby Boomers.
According to AMS, the ownership patterns of computers varied little across the different generational segments, but with newer mobile devices emerging in the market, there appeared to be generational preference.
Boomers appeared to head the e-Reader platform with more than 8.2 million currently owning one and ten million contemplating buying one. Female boomers were 11 percent more likely to own an eReader than their male counterparts.
However, when the tablet PC was profiled, it was found that Gen-Xers were the most likely buyers. The generation was skewed with reference to eReaders, as there were more male buyers than female.
The AMS reports indicated that the buyers of smartphones were most likely to be the 46.5 million Millennials. In fact, Millennials are 28 percent more likely to own a smartphone than the average American adult. Men seemed to have a greater preference for this device than women.
AMS employs a contemporary, web-based methodology to survey more than 60,000 consumers annually. It is the industry's only source for total magazine brand readership across print and digital channels, including magazines and provides the marketplace with a contemporary solution to magazine audience measurement across both print and digital platforms.
Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.