A mobile-only world ? Really ?

Who would have believed it 10 years ago or more? Mobile has become so essential in our lives that it has become the preferred device in our connected lives.

Of course, it’s not the fact of having a phone in your pocket that has, alone, radically changed things because otherwise this revolution would have happened much earlier. It is the combination of different factors.

Mobile did not impose itself alone

– The mobile phone of course.

– Screens and interfaces adapted to the consumption of online content and services. With the iPhone as the tipping point.

– The appstore concept that has stimulated the offer of connected services and thereby created new needs.

– Adapted plans. Those who ventured onto the first smartphones before the plans embarked on a certain amount of data remember the invoices. Again, thank you Apple for putting the knife to the operators’ throats.

– An adapted network. Well yes GPRS or 2G were nice but 3G was much better. With 4G and the programmed arrival of 5G, we achieve an equal comfort of use in mobility if it is not higher than a Wifi connection.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

The victory of mobile: everything but a surprise

And then one day, then, the world changed. I am talking about the day when the figures showed that we spent more time on our mobiles than on computers, which is now a given.

So I can accept this a major fact for advertisers or marketers, but there’s nothing to be afraid of either: all this is only logical.

How long a day do we have our mobile phone at hand? Almost all the time.

What is the device we have at hand during “weak times”, those moments when we are a little idle and when the slightest distraction is welcome (public transport, queues, a marketer even gave me a very sought-after speech about the time spent in the toilet…)? Mobile, of course.

So nothing really surprising: it is mathematical or even logical and is nothing more or less than the consequence of the availability/usability time of the different devices we have in a day.

Towards a 100% mobile world

Another step is being taken: the transition to a 100% mobile world, where mobile and tablet have definitively replaced the computer.

According to Médiamétrie 54% of 15-34 year olds are “mobile only”, i.e. they do not use any other device than a mobile or a tablet to connect to the Internet.

“This exclusive use of mobile phones even amounts to 54% of daily Internet users aged 15-34 (compared to 47% in June). Some applications have received a strong commitment from the Millennials as more than half of their monthly visitors have logged in every day. At Snapchat, this attendance rate reaches 60%.”

Now let me raise an eyebrow. All right, there have been measures, these measures say things, just bow down. But still.

That 54% of 15-34 year olds do not use a computer to connect (because that’s what it tells us) leaves me more than sceptical.

So…

– These are the summer figures, not everyone takes their computer on holiday.

– In the 15-24 age group, not everyone works and therefore does not need to use a computer at the office.

– Not everyone who has a job needs a computer to do it.

But still it seems a little big to me.

By the way, what does it mean to be connected?

In short, the subject gave rise to quite lively discussions and an argument that struck a chord with me. “But in the office they use the computer to work and and personal uses are on the mobile.” Well, this already means that we assume that some people have a computer in the office but do not use it to connect to the Internet.

Strange. Unless…..

If, for example, I am at the office connected to Office 365 or Google Apps, does that count as time connected or not? Hence the logical question: what does it mean to be connected?

As always when you see numbers, you have to ask yourself who they are talking to and who is behind them.

Who’s behind it? Médiamétrie. A serious company, no sponsor behind so no hidden subliminal message or willingness to guide anyone’s choice. Apart from the fact that I am very curious to know how one can reliably know that a person uses his mobile and exclusively his mobile to connect (curious is an euphemism) nothing to say.

Who should these numbers talk to? In my opinion, the general public doesn’t care about knowing what their own connection practices are: they live them and it’s transparent for them. However, it is vital information for the media and advertisers, for whom it does constitute a major paradigm shift.

From there to consider that the only connected time that deserves to be taken into account is connected time “monetisable” for an advertiser, excluding time connected on work tools? In any case, it would make sense and, for the moment, would be closer to reality.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

 

Photo : mobile only de DisobeyArt via Shutterstock

Bertrand DUPERRIN
Bertrand DUPERRINhttps://www.duperrin.com/english
Head of People and Business Delivery @Emakina / Former consulting director / Crossroads of people, business and technology / Speaker / Compulsive traveler
Head of People and Business Delivery @Emakina / Former consulting director / Crossroads of people, business and technology / Speaker / Compulsive traveler
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