People change the media device they are using on average 21 times per hour when they are at home.

This is a remarkable finding, though it becomes more believable the more you think about your own habits.  It also begs the question as to whether this number will go higher still as we become more savvy with screens and handling multiple sources of content and information.

This research finding was announced last week to relatively little fanfare.  It is part of a UK-based study that is looking into the future of British consumerism.  As MediaWeek explains, this was a qualitative study of 200 people, which asked people to report which devices they used during one hour of an evening.  The respondents used their mobile phones to record what devices they were using.

I am intrigued to learn more about this study, but haven’t found much online so far.  Taking these findings at face-value (and I have no reason not to), it’s worth taking a moment to think through what this means for the media industry.

• Keep in mind that “21” is only an average.  Some respondents, and hence some demographic groups, likely switched many more than 21 times, just as others switched far less.  This raises the bar even higher for all media content producers – that whatever content is being accessed, there is a never-ending need to be continuously entertained and that it must be deemed worthwhile for nearly every moment.  Otherwise, the consumer has a nearly endless source of other sources to check out, not to mention other devices to look at as well.
• One of the most common questions I hear in radio research is what is the right length for a news piece, topic, or interview? Hopefully, this study (and others like it) will make this question moot and will eliminate the notion of any such thing as a right length for an audio story or a video.  The length is right for as long as the listener/viewer/reader is engaged, is learning something new, and wants to consume more.  For example, in US Public Radio research, quality has always superseded quantity.  Every research study has shown that the length of a piece is irrelevant.  If a piece has quality, then more times than not, the audience is hooked and engaged.  The best storytelling will pause any device switching.
• Television, in my mind, benefits from being a natural media companion to social media and multiple devices, since typically, you have sit still to consume it.  TV is also leading the way with its experimentation, much of it successfully.  This study underlines why TV shows already promote tweeting during the most popular shows and encourage voting for the most popular entertainer.
• For the web, it’s a case of the shoe being on the other foot.  Not so long ago, it was the web that was disrupting broadcast media with its customized content on a scale that back then was unprecedented.  Now the web is fighting the same battle and is no different to any other media choice available.  Sure, the web has many more choices but unless it entertains, informs, or shows me something I want to share, then I’m gone.
• For advertising – the principal target for this study – will this study be the death knell for the 30-second ad?  Surely, we can’t be far from it now.  Marketing is going through a dramatic change right now with greater emphasis on shorter, more personalized ads appearing in many different ways, particularly geotargeting.  One certainty is that any media content that does not adapt to the new ways we now consume media, doesn’t survive in a world in which media occasions are getting shorter and shorter.

Seth Godin is right.  We are our own media companies now.  Even bloggers, such as me, have to say something unique, striking, thought-provoking to capture your valuable reading time.  If you have made it this far in this blog post, then, first, thank you, but also, secondly, recognize that you’ve likely read this in just under 3 minutes, which is about the average time before a person switches their device yet again.