Québec, November 27, 2014 - Viewing news and news from a mobile device (smart phone, tablets or e-readers, etc.) is a growing trend in Québec in 2014. Data from the “news and news ”from the NETendances survey reveal that nearly 40 % of Quebec adults (38.2 %) now obtain information on a mobile device, a marked increase compared to 2012 when less than one in five adults (17 , 4%) obtained information from such a device.
This growth in viewing news and news from a mobile device is attributable in large part to the greater proportion of adults in Quebec who own smartphones and tablets. In 2012, 12.7 % of Quebec adults had a digital tablet and 31.5 % a smart phone, these proportions jumped to 38.9 % and 52.3 % respectively in 2014.
“The explosion of options available for viewing news and current affairs on the Internet makes the task of traditional media more complex. Information abounds on the Web and it is most often available free of charge and at all times, which is considerably detrimental to the revenues of traditional media, which must be reinvented ”affirms Claire Bourget, Senior Director, Marketing Research at CEFRIO. “But the growing craze for news on mobile devices is opening new doors for news broadcasters. More and more dailies are now adopting tablet versions, like La Presse: Le Devoir, The Gazette, the Toronto Star soon, and others, ”concludes Claire Bourget.
The proportion of adults who view the news from a mobile device is higher among those with higher family incomes, as it is among adults with a college or university degree.
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Internet on its way to establishing itself as the main source of information
While television is still the main source for information among all Quebec adults (46.4 %), the Internet is gaining ground in 2014, passing from the main source of information to one in five Quebec adults (19 , 7 %) in 2013 to that of one in four (26.4 %). And for some age subgroups, such as students, the Internet is far ahead of television as the main source of information (64.5 % and 17.3 % respectively).
The written press tends to be less and less popular as the main source of information, losing 4.9 percentage points between 2012 (22.5 %) and 2014 (17.6 %). For its part, at 7.7 %, the popularity of radio remained stable.
“The NETendances survey confirms the slow erosion of the printed media to the benefit of the Internet as a primary source of continuous information, undoubtedly amplified by the launch of La Presse + in 2013. The good performance of television, that close to the half of adults continue to use as their main media, shows that there is still room for traditional media - in particular continuous information networks - insofar as they can be accessed through the Web ”, comments Bernard Motulsky, holder of the Chair of Public Relations and Marketing Communication at UQAM and Associate Researcher at CEFRIO.
Quebec adults who love real-time information
Three in five Quebec adults (59.1 %) actively follow the evolution of events or situations on the Web. The weather is the type of information tracked in real time by the largest proportion of Quebec adults (49.5 %). Current affairs news (31.8 %), cultural events (29.8 %), sports results (24.6 %) and election results (24.5 %) are, for their part, actively followed online by at least one in four Quebec adults.
Twitter far behind the main sources consulted on the Internet
News and current affairs websites are the main source of information for one in ten Quebec adults (11.7 % cite them as the first mention). They are followed by social networks (excluding Twitter) at 4.9 %, applications for mobile devices at 4.5 %, search engines dedicated to news (2.2 %) and information portals (1.7 %). At less than one percent (0.2 %), microblogs such as Twitter are the main source of information for only a tiny proportion of Quebec adults.
The detailed results including tables, graphs, socio-demographic data and methodology are available online: http://cefr.io/vol5no5.
About NETendances
CEFRIO's NETendances survey provides an integrated and up-to-date portrait of major trends in Internet and ICT use across Quebec. NETendances 2014 was carried out thanks to the financial support of the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins and the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, not to mention the collaboration of BIP - Bureau of professional interviewers for data collection.
About CEFRIO
For more than 25 years, CEFRIO has supported public and private organizations in transforming their business processes and practices through the appropriation and use of digital technology. A recognized liaison and transfer center, CEFRIO is mandated by the Government of Quebec to contribute to the advancement of Quebec society through digital technology. It researches, experiments, investigates and promotes the uses of digital technology in all aspects of society. Its action is based on an experienced team, a network of some 80 associate and guest researchers, as well as the commitment of more than 150 members.
Source: CEFRIO
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