51% of US mobile users will second screen, compared to just 10% of Chinese users
China has emerged as a one-screen nation according to a study from IAB and the Interactive Internet Advertising Committee of China.
The new study compares consumer smartphone usage habits and revealed that US smartphone owners are much more likely to consume other media with their mobile devices in hand.
While watching TV, 51 per cent of US smartphone users participate in internet communications compared to 10 per cent in China. Only nine per cent of Chinese smartphone users will simultaneously read social media, compared to 38 per cent in the US.
Thirty-four per cent of US users compared to eight per cent in China said they conducted a local search while watching TV.
The data shows similar disparities when it comes to reading print media.
The research also illustrated that Americans have a greater dependency on their smartphones as devices that they would “never leave home without” (69 per cent) in comparison to six per cent for their Chinese counterparts.
Approximately one third (34 per cent) of Americans said that their smartphone is the “first thing I reach for when I wake up,” as opposed to seven per cent of Chinese smartphone owners.
“China has built some of the world’s most popular and powerful digital brands, including companies like Sina.com, Baidu, Sohu and RenRen,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO, IAB. “This study will help global marketers understand what these Chinese companies already understand – that the mobile consumer in China is a valuable but complicated force.”