Is Mobile Really A Second Screen?

This week I was reading an article on Bloomberg Business Week about the major increase our society is spending on mobile devices versus watching television. This article shares that on average, a person is spending 2 hours and 48 minutes on their mobile device a day. The distinction is above the time distinction spend watching television now. On average, 177 minutes is spent on a mobile device and 168 minutes watching television. In my opinion, I believe the gap is going to increase between time spent on both technologies. So, is mobile really what marketers call a "second screen'?

Mobile Versus Television

Typically, television is referred to as a first screen in which marketers can reach consumers. Mobile would be called a second screen marketers can reach their consumers with ads and messages. With the large growth seen in time spent on mobile, will it take over the first screen slot. I believe that this distinction will stay the same for consistency sake, but mobile is clearly beating out reaching consumers on the television. With the technological advances we have seen within just the last year or two, watching television or videos on your mobile device is easy and portable. Consumers may start to choose to watch through their smartphones rather than directly through a television. Alternately, I have noticed that if you visit some regular station websites to watch videos, such as CBS or ABC, you must confirm your television provider to receive the videos. I do believe people will continue with television providers for reasons such as this. 

What Should Marketers Do?

As mentioned in prior posts, it is always imperative for marketers to know where their consumers are spending their time. If you as a marketer know your target is spending a significant amount of time on mobile versus television, then advertising more on mobile will be more effective. It is interesting to see how this trend is growing right in front of my eyes. Only a few years ago I personally did not have a smartphone, or even a cell phone in general. Now I look around and practically everyone is on a smartphone...and for a majority of their time. I see how my younger cousins can be glued to their devices even to just play games with each other. This concept is already so different from when I was their age and they were much younger. If marketers are trying to reach consumers my cousins' ages, then mobile will certainly be worth it. 

Bloomberg Article mentioned: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-19/we-now-spend-more-time-staring-at-phones-than-tvs