A friend confessed recently that he had trouble putting his phone away at night before turning off the light. That even after he had exhausted all his usual briefings, newsletters and social media outlets, his brain was hungry for more.
“It really takes me a while to deprogram myself from my phone and from emails to get into a restful mode,” he told me.
He is not alone, I am sure.
Now this Poynter article reveals everything you want to know about addictions to your connections. Highlights:
- Personal email use is up by 17 percent from this time last year. A quarter of those surveyed in a study quoted in the article check their personal email from bed when they wake up and a whopping 85 percent check it before getting to work.
- About 60 percent of those surveyed check personal email when watching TV, 40 percent admitted to reading emails in the bathroom and 27 percent are total antisocialites and glance at email while in mid-meal with others.
No surprises at all. However, I also see opportunities, and I remind my clients about that every time. If this addiction involves checking your phone multiple times a day, that is a great chance to put the brand of your news product out there.
Emphasize push notifications, alerts, not just for breaking news but as “trailers” to the best content you are planning to publish, even two or three days later. Promote yourself. Promote your content. Newsletters at specific times of day will capture the attention of the addicted audience.
Time to relate the facts of this connection addiction to the products we create.