"I'm a digital explorer in analog roam, and everybody's on the phone." -- Jimmy Buffett from his 2006 song "Everybody's On The Phone"
On more than one occasion, I've been accused of spending too much time staring at my phone screen. Guilty as charged. While I'm not ready to call it an addiction, the phone has turned into an important tool in how I manage my life.
Between my phone and my tablet, I regularly visit four or five newspaper websites, and that is beyond the sites for where I work. Those sites are a part of my regular routine, much in the same way that my morning newspaper still is today.
Jimmy Buffett was a futurist when he wrote that lyric, but that has become reality, as we it played out in society today. In 2017, comScore's report on Cross Platform Future in Focus estimated that the average adult spent just shy of three hours a day on their smartphone every day. I'll do the math for you; that's about 23 days a year.
The old adage about too much of a good thing is a bad thing comes to mind regarding the amount of screen time in people's life, and that is starting to be discussed when it comes to digital consumption. A few weeks back, I read a couple articles on screen health. While a new term to me, screen health is quickly becoming a concern for some people. Too much time staring at a screen is having negative impacts on people's lives.
In early June, Apple announced in early June that their new operating system for their iPhones and iPads would incorporate a screen health app. It is designed to help people spend less time on their phones. Google has already incorporated this into their system.
People deciding that they are spending too much time on their phones is not enough to cure the ills of traditional media. But to me, this does provide some optimism for the future of traditional media including newspapers.
Others share that optimism, including Angus Campbell. He published on LinkedIN an article titled "Why print will never die". Campbell offered three solid reminders of the importance of traditional print as a marketing tool that, coupled with the increasing concern of too much time in front of a screen offer opportunities for audience and revenue in the future.
In his article, Campbell pointed out that print is more satisfying for the recipient. It engages more senses for the reader, which subconsciously makes for a better experience for the reader. Print can be trusted to deliver. The long history of the newspaper industry is still on our side, and people have a higher degree of trust for the content within those printed pages, editorial and advertising, which helps deliver results. As fake news continues to make headlines, print outlets - especially local newspapers - remain the trusted source.
His last point was his best point in the article, I believe. Print is a tremendous compliment to digital. The fad of using QR codes in newspapers has come and gone largely, but emerging technology like augmented reality and virtual reality is creating new opportunities for readers to engage with print going forward. And even without the interaction between print and a digital platform, the fact remains that a marketing campaign that includes digital and prints - especially print's target audience with a lot of disposable income - works better than a digital only approach.
The struggle is real. Fighting customers that want to place their dollars strictly on digital marketing opportunities is a daily fight. Tell them about screen health, and how a properly managed campaign with traditional and non-traditional media will bring a healthier result to their profits.
