African-Americans Dial Up Smartphone Use

African-Americans -- already voracious consumers of video content -- also over index in their use of apps on their smartphones, according to a new Nielsen Media Pulse report.

African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian American adults spend more than 2 hours and 20 minutes per day using apps or accessing the web on their smartphones, above the 2 hours and 19 minutes generated by the total U.S. population, according to Nielsen. African-Americans however, are driving the trend, averaging 2 hours and 47 minutes on smartphones -- more than any other individual group, said Nielsen.

The high use smartphones by African-Americans to access apps and the web isn’t surprising given the group’s overall consumption of media across all platforms. 

African-Americans dwarf all other groups in per day usage across all media -- including live TV viewing, radio listening, and use of TV connected devices and smartphones -- averaging nearly 12 hours and 50 minutes of media consumption. That’s 23% more time than the average adult, according to Nielsen’s most recent Total Audience report for second quarter 2018.

Further, African-Americans spend more than seven and a half hours per day viewing video across all platforms, two hours more than the average viewer, reported Nielsen.

In other Nielsen’s Media Pulse report findings, Asian-Americans are more proficient when it comes to tablet use. The group spends at least 45 minutes per day using a tablet, outpacing all other groups as well as the total U.S. population.

Also, adult women spend 6% more time using handheld platforms for apps and accessing the web than men, according to the Nielsen report.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.