This Great Graphic was posted by Derek Thompson at The Atlantic. For a selected group of countries, the chart depicts the minutes spent per day on various devices: television, computer (PC and laptop), smartphone and tablet. Thompson's article also provides additional tables, some interactive, that will rank the countries by the medium. One of the observations is that Americans and Europeans watch more television, while lower income countries tend to be more mobile.
It may not be that habits old habits die hard, as Thompson suggests, that explains the greater television usage in the US and Europe. There is another concept that might be more helpful, namely the uneven development of capitalism. The rising middle classes in many developing countries can skip skip intermediary steps in technology. A parallel might be in the use of land lines for telephones or cell phones.
One limitation of the chart is that Thompson does not cite the source of the data or really explain what is being measured. Is this average use ? If so, does the disparity of income/wealth distort the picture? How much do the prices of the different devices vary from country-to-country due to tariffs and other regulations ? How much television programing is for free ? What is the penetration rate of the different technologies? In terms of average pay, how much do the prices of the the different products vary within a country?
Great Graphic: International Comparison of Media Consumption
Reviewed by Marc Chandler
on
May 29, 2014
Rating:
Reviewed by Marc Chandler
on
May 29, 2014
Rating:
