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The State of the Apostolic Nation - Media Consumption:
The Media is the Message is the Me

December 17, 2001

Media is so omnivorous that it is not only big (TV, movies, commercial radio, major magazines), and small (CDs, public radio/TV, Internet, books, niche magazines, art), but it is metamorphosing technology (cell phones, pagers, hand-held devices) for communication purposes. No average person makes it through the day without picking up a newspaper, listening to music or talk radio, writing an email, talking on the phone, or rifling a magazine in the lobby of a doctor’s office. It is integral to our existence.

Anything consumed (somehow the word seems too powerful, but isn’t) daily needs to be inspected, like food intake to our body. Like food, media supplies the daily mental¾and often spiritual¾energy necessary to interact in the 21st Century. Yet, like an inefficient diet, it can also adversely affect how we operate¾within our career, relationships, and walk with God. Yes, you are what you eat. The body’s politics, priorities, lifestyle and even personal beliefs can be affected, even changed, by exposure to the messages from the media.

Although many forms of media and the morality of their message have been addressed from our pulpits, no one has ever accurately measured how Apostolics consume media. Because of this, ninetyandnine.com felt it long overdue to investigate Apostolic Media Consumption. This survey was given in the form of an online poll between November 12-25, 2001 to the worldwide Apostolic body.

Special thanks to Shirley McDonald for eternal hours in crunching much of this data into shape, as she has in the past.

One final note, if you use these findings when writing, teaching or preaching, please reference ninetyandine.com as your source.

- The Editors

The State of the Apostolic Nation - Media Consumption

 

Gender of Respondents

Female 54%
Male 46%

Age of Respondents

24 - 30 32%
18 - 23 28%
Over 40 19%
31 - 40 18%
Under 18 2%

On a typical day how much time do you spend watching television?

1 hour or less 60%
1 - 3 hours 29%
8 + hours 5%
No Answer 4%
4 - 7 hours 2%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown 

·        Half of the 18-23 year-old males watch 1-3 hours a day.

·        71% of the respondents who spend over eight hours a day watching television are under 18 or over 40.

On a typical day how much time do you spend listening to the radio?

1 - 3 hours 42.1%
1 hour or less 42%
4 - 7 hours 8%
8 + hours 4%
No Answer 4%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        52% of the 24 - 30 age group listen to the radio 1 - 3 hours a day.

 

How much time do you spend using email?

1 - 3 hours 48%
1 hour or less 39%
4 - 7 hours 7%
8 + hours 5%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        The least surprising breakdown of all - in an exact parallel to verbal communications, females dominate the 1-3 hours a day category (61%), while males dominate the 1 hour or less category (56%).

·        For those who spend 8 + hours on email, 56% are male.

·        61% of 24 - 30 years-old females communicate between 1 - 3 hours daily, while 59% of 31 - 40 years-old males communicate between 1 - 3 hours daily.

 

How much time do you spend surfing the Internet (for pleasure)?

1 hour or less 43%
1 - 3 hours 43%
4 - 7 hours 8%
8 + hours 5%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        Apostolic males spend more time surfing the net, than females (55% to 45% in the 18 - 30 year-old age group).

·        In the Surfing 1 - 3 hours daily category, females dominated 53% to 47%.

·        In the Surfing 4 - 7 hours daily category, 80% of respondents are male, with a third of those coming in the 18 - 23 age group.

·        In the Surfing 8 + hours daily category, 100% of respondents are female, with 80% being 40 + years-old and 20% being under 18.

 

What Others Say

“Average Internet users spend about 85 minutes on-line a day, according to Pew (Internet & American Life Project)’s latest survey. Some of that is at work, some at home. Most presumably involves e-mail…”  -“Broadband’s Faded Promise,” Newsweek, December 17, 2001.

How much time do you spend listening to CDs?

1 hour or less 46%
1 - 3 hours 44%
4 - 7 hours 8%
8 + hours 2%
No Answer 1%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        63% of 18 - 23 year-old females listen to CDs 1 - 3 hours each day, while 52% of 24 - 30 year-old males listen 1 - 3 hours each day.

·        Still won’t surrender their cassettes: 82% of 31 - 40 year-old males listen to CDs an hour or less each day, while 59% of 40 + year-old females listen to CDs an hour or less each day.

 

My CD collection is composed of:

Mostly Christian CDs 43%
All Christian CDs 31%
Mostly Secular CDs 9%
Equal Mix 8%
All Secular CDs 7%
No Answer 1%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        The extremes:  The All Christian CD respondents were 52% female, 48% male. The All Secular CD respondents were 54% female, 46% male.

 

How many (non-required) books do you read in a year?

1 - 2 a Month 28%
1 - 2 a Quarter 27%
1 - 2 a Year 16.1%
1 - 2 a Week 16%
3 + a Week 7%
What's a book? 6%
No Answer 1%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        Of those who read 1 - 2 books a week, 61% are female (41% of whom are in the 24 - 30 year-old age group).

·        The extremes:  Of those who read 3 + books a week, 62% are male, 38% are female. Of those who can’t fit a book into their lives, 80% are male (50% of whom are in the 40 + year-old age group.)

 

What Others Say

“Eighteen percent of Americans report reading between 6 and 10 books this past year, up from 15% in 1990. Thirty-four percent of respondents say they read 11 to 50 books this past year, while 10% of respondents claim to have read 51 books or more in the past year. Young people tend to read more than older people do. For those aged 18 - 29 years, 92% claim to have read a book this past year, while only 73% of those over age 65 make the same assertion.” - Gallup News Service, July 21, 1999.

 

Do You Watch or Attend Movies?

On Video Only 47%
At the Theater and on Video 28%
No 23%
At the Theater Only 2%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        For those who don’t watch movies in any form - 56% are male, 44% are female.

·        Among Videos Only Respondents (top two groups in each gender) - 65% of 40 + year-old females; 60% of 18 - 23 year-old females; 56% of 40 + year-old males; 44% of 24 - 30 year-old males.

·        Among Theater or Video Respondents (top group in each gender) - 39% of 24 - 30 year-old females; 33% of 24 - 30 year-old males.

 

How Frequently Do You Watch Movies?

2 - 3 a Month 32%
1 a Month 19%
1 a Quarter 17%
No Answer 13.1%
1 + a Week 13%
1 a Year 6%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        For those watching 1 + movie/videos a week - 61% are female, 39% are male.

·        For those watching 2 - 3 movies/videos a month - 56% are female, 44% are male.

·        For those watching 2 - 3 movies/videos a month - 47% of females and 45% of males are 18 - 23 years old.

·        For those watching 2 - 3 movies/videos a month - 35% of females and 33% of males are 24 - 30 years old.

 

What Others Say:

“Gallup estimates that Americans have seen an average of 4.4 movies in the theater in the last 12 months, and (assuming the frequency of viewing in the last month is typical of the entire year), an average of 81.6 movies (or a median of 48 movies) at home in the last 12 months.”

Gallup News Service March 23, 2001.

 

What is the Highest Rated Movie You Will Watch?

R 39%
PG-13 25%
PG 12%
No Answer 15%
G 6%
Other Rating 2%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

·        The Other Rating group splits 50% - 50% male - female.

 

What Others Say

“When it comes to viewing R - rated movies, Christians are only a little less likely than non-Christian to report that they have viewed one in the past 7 days. Of born-again Christians, 30% reported that they watched an R - rated movie in the past week, compared to 40% of non-Christians.” Barna Research Group, 1998.

 

So what do you think? Give us your thoughts in feedback for a special Letter’s Column on Apostolic Media Consumption.

ã 2001, ninetyandnine.com

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