Do Tablets Affect When We Read?

Tablets might change how some people read, what they read, how much they read or what else they give up to read. Tablets might also change when people read. After analyzing about one million articles saved for later reading by Read It Later, the company suggests that tablets already are shifting the consumption of content, at least on the part of tablet owners.

The data suggests that iPad owners, for example, shift much of their reading away from PCs during work hours and towards "personal prime time" in the evenings.

Looking at the number of articles read each hour by Read It Later users on their computers, a significant amount of content was shifted towards the end of a user’s day (6PM – 9PM).

When a reader is given a choice about how to consume their content, a major shift in behavior occurs. They no longer consume the majority of their content during the day, on their computer. Instead they shift that content to prime time and onto a device better suited for consumption.

That reinforces the notion that iPads and tablets might wind up being used extensively "on the couch" and in the home, rather than as a replacement for a PC on business trips. One also wonders what happens to TV viewing, as reading is relatively more-immersive activity than much music listening, which happens when users are doing something else.

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