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White Paper8

Mobile Content End User Survey

Comparison of Mobile Subscribers and Social Networking Users Nick Holland
Principal Analyst, Mobile Content

With services commoditized at present, mobile operators have shifted emphasis to data services as a core
area of business development. Mobile content falls into two categories: communication and entertainment,
both of which are keystones of online social networking. The surveys detailed in this ABI Research white
paper sought to determine whether users of online social networking portals such as MySpace and
Facebook were higher-than-average consumers of mobile content.
The charts in this white paper are derived from two separate online surveys. “Mobile Subscribers” refers
to a survey that ABI Research conducted in November 2007, sampling just over 1,000 mobile subscribers
in the United States. “Social Network Mobile Subscribers” refers to a survey that ABI Research
conducted in June 2008, sampling just over 500 US mobile subscribers to online social networks such as
MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo. Although the sample sizes differ between the two groups, both are
considered statistically significant.
A comparison of age and gender demographics revealed that three-quarters of the Social Network Mobile
Subscribers clustered between the ages of 18 and 29. The Mobile Subscriber group represented a far more
even age spread, more closely representing the overall mobile subscriber landscape in the United States.
Age may play a large role in the consumption patterns found in this report, skewing towards younger users in
the Social Network Mobile Subscriber Group, where one would expect greater usage of mobile content
services. Indeed, this is the case.

Survey Participants Demographics: Age

100%

90%

80%
Mobile Subscribers
70%
Social Netw ork
60% Mobile Subscribers

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
14-17 18 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 to 39 40 to 44 45 to 49 50 to 54 55 to 59

(Source: ABI Research)

SU-MOCO-101, 11/07, n=1005
SU-MOSO-101, 06/08, n=51
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Section 1.
1.1 Smartphone Ownership
Comparing responses to the question “Is your phone a smartphone?” we found that
Social Network Mobile Subscribers were twice as likely to have a smartphone as
Mobile Subscribers, indicating users felt that data capabilities on a mobile device were
worth the premium associated with owning this type of device. Smartphones afford
users the ability to type alphabetic characters directly into the device, greatly
facilitating communication via email, SMS, MMS, and IM. Logically, owners of such
devices would be power users of messaging services.

Smartphones are also typically equipped with larger display screens, more memory,
and greater processing power than standard feature phones, providing an improved
multimedia experience for viewing TV and video, playing games, surfing web pages,
and listening to music. Again, we expect higher usage of these forms of content
among smartphone owners than ‘vanilla’ feature phone owners.

Chart 1.1 Is your phone a smartphone?

100%

90%
Mobile Subscribers
80%
Social Netw ork
70% Mobile Subscribers

60%

50%

40% 36.8%

30%
18%
20%

10%

0%
Yes

(Source: ABI Research)

SU-MOCO-101, 11/07, n=1005
SU-MOSO-101, 06/08, n=514

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1.2 Mobile Internet

Mobile Internet usage can be considered the core mobile content service. Mobile
Internet users are likely to have data subscriptions; using many of the services
streamed over mobile Internet portals such as music, games, and video can lead to
more active consumption of these services. Significantly, Social Network Mobile
Subscribers were twice as likely to be regular users of mobile Internet services as
Mobile Subscribers.

Chart 1.2 Subscribers assessing the mobile internet once a month or more

100%

90%
Mobile Subscribers
80%
Social Netw ork
70% Mobile Subscribers

60%

50% 44%

40%

30%
22%
20%

10%

0%

(Source: ABI Research)

SU-MOCO-101, 11/07, n=1005
SU-MOSO-101, 06/08, n=514

1.3 Messaging Services: Text Messaging (SMS) and Email

Text messaging has become an extremely popular form of data service in the United
States, with CTIA reporting 363 Billion SMS messages sent in 2007; that is an average
of 118 messages per subscriber, per month. Unsurprisingly, SMS usage in both survey
groups represented the majority. In the Mobile Subscribers survey group, 65% of
subscribers reported sending or receiving text messages (or both) once a month or
more, versus 88% of the Social Networking Mobile Subscriber group, who reported that
they were sending or receiving text messages (or both) once a month or more.

While some social networking sites allowed users to interface with online sites
via text messages in the past, this practice is now essentially obsolete, so the
increased SMS usage among the Social Network Mobile Subscribers is not likely
to be the result of a desire to interact with social networks. Instead, we expect
that Social Network Mobile Subscribers have an increased comfort with data
services and are being – by the very nature of their involvement with social
networks – more actively communicative and ‘social’.

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The material contained herein is for the individual use of the purchasing Licensee and may not be distributed to any other person or entity by such
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Chart 1.3 Subscribers using text messaging (SMS) once a month or more

100%
Mobile Subscribers 88%
90%
Social Netw ork Mobile
80%
Subscribers
70% 65%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

(Source: ABI Research)

SU-MOCO-101, 11/07, n=1005
SU-MOSO-101, 06/08, n=514

The surveys also asked both sample groups about usage patterns for mobile email.
Once again, the Social Network Mobile Subscribers exhibited a far greater degree of
usage of mobile email services than the Mobile Subscriber group; nearly twice as
many Social Network Mobile Subscribers (44%) were users of mobile email compared
to the Mobile Subscriber group (23%).

Chart 1.4 Subscribers using mobile email once a month or more

100%

90%
Mobile Subscribers
80%
Social Netw ork
70% Mobile Subscribers

60%

50% 44%

40%

30%
23%

20%

10%

0%

(Source: ABI Research)

SU-MOCO-101, 11/07, n=1005
SU-MOSO-101, 06/08, n=514

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The material contained herein is for the individual use of the purchasing Licensee and may not be distributed to any other person or entity by such
Licensee including, without limitation, to persons within the same corporate or other entity as such Licensee, without the express written permission of Licensor.
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1.4 Entertainment Services: Mobile Music, Mobile Gaming and Mobile

TV / Video
One surprising result of the survey was the degree of regular usage of mobile
entertainment services, such as gaming and music, not just in the expected Social
Network Mobile Subscriber group, but also in the more general Mobile Subscriber
group. Over half of the Social Network Mobile subscriber group admitted listening to
music on mobile phones at least once a month or more, and nearly a quarter of the
Mobile Subscriber group did. The US market being dominated by Apple’s iPod and
other dedicated music player devices suggests a lower level of usage among both sets
of subscribers; however, the survey indicates significant usage of the mobile phone as a
music player. Methodology – that is an online survey – may have influenced this result;
if we had conducted the surveys (particularly the MOCO survey) via phone and looked
for just mobile phone users who also have broadband, we may have reached a less
tech savvy audience and one less likely to play music on their phones.

Chart 1.5 Subscribers listening to music on mobile phones once a month or more

100%

90% Mobile Subscribers

80%
Social Netw ork Mobile
70% Subscribers

60%
52%
50%

40%

30%
23%
20%

10%

0%

(Source: ABI Research)

SU-MOCO-101, 11/07, n=1005
SU-MOSO-101, 06/08, n=514

The surveys revealed a similar ratio of uptake to mobile music among both groups for
mobile gaming. 61% of Social Network Mobile Subscribers played games on their
mobile phones once a month or more, and 31% among the Mobile Subscribers group
did. This is less surprising than the mobile music survey results since the penetration
of portable gaming consoles is far lower than that of MP3 players. Moreover, many
phones come pre-installed with a number of games, meaning that the end-user has
fewer barriers to content-discovery than to other forms of entertainment, such as
music and video.

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Chart 1.6 Subscribers playing games on mobile phones once a month or more

100%

90%
Mobile Subscribers
80%
Social Netw ork
Mobile Subscribers
70%
61%
60%

50%

40%
31%
30%

20%

10%

0%

(Source: ABI Research)

SU-MOCO-101, 11/07, n=1005
SU-MOSO-101, 06/08, n=514

Uptake of mobile TV / video services was considerably lower than other forms of
entertainment-oriented content, with just 9% of Mobile Subscribers using their mobile
phones for viewing TV or video once a month or more. However, Social Network
Mobile Subscribers were three times more likely to be using mobile TV or video
services on a regular basis; 27% of interviewees claimed to be using their mobile
phones to watch TV or video once a month or more.

Chart 1.7 Subscribers viewing mobile TV or video once a month or more

100%

90%
Mobile Subscribers
80% Social Netw ork
Mobile Subscribers
70%

60%

50%

40%

27%
30%

20%
9%
10%

0%

(Source: ABI Research)

SU-MOCO-101, 11/07, n=1005
SU-MOSO-101, 06/08, n=514 Conclusion

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The material contained herein is for the individual use of the purchasing Licensee and may not be distributed to any other person or entity by such
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The results clearly indicate a far greater propensity for mobile content usage and
consumption among Social Network Mobile Subscribers than among plain old Mobile
Subscribers – at a rate of two, or even three times. Several reasons explain this:

• The demographic for Social Network Mobile Subscribers skews significantly

younger than the more normal age distribution demonstrated by the Mobile
Subscriber panel and, as is well known, the 18-30 age group is more likely to
consume mobile data services than older subscribers.
• The expectation would be that a high degree of tech savvy demonstrated online
among avid users of online social networks would similarly apply to the user’s
mobile activity. Furthermore, by the very nature of being a user of online social
networks, the mobile subscriber is demonstrating an outgoing “social” persona.
We could reasonably expect this group to score higher than average in usage of
other forms of communication.
• Online social networks aggregate not just friends and acquaintances for users, but
music, video, and many other forms of content. Users of MySpace or Facebook
may be just as enamored with the ability to track the activities of their favorite
bands and movies as they are with actually communicating with friends. In fact,
the term “social network” also encompasses user-generated content portals such
as YouTube where the emphasis is not on socializing, but on content consumption.

The high level of mobile content usage exhibited by the Social Network Mobile
Subscriber group suggests that we should not underestimate the connection between
online social network sites and mobile content consumption. Promoting mobile
content on online social network sites should continue to be a high priority for mobile
operators, content distributors, media companies, and advertisers.

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The material contained herein is for the individual use of the purchasing Licensee and may not be distributed to any other person or entity by such
Licensee including, without limitation, to persons within the same corporate or other entity as such Licensee, without the express written permission of Licensor.
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Published 3Q 2008

©2008 ABI Research

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The material contained herein is for the individual use of the purchasing Licensee and may not be distributed to any other person or entity by such
Licensee including, without limitation, to persons within the same corporate or other entity as such Licensee, without the express written permission of Licensor.