Juli 2024
Tinius Digest
Månedlige rapporter om endringer, trender og utviklinger i mediebransjen.
Om Tinius Digest
Tinius Digest gir deg en oversikt over rapporter om og analyser av utvikling i mediebransjen og publiseres en gang i måneden. Her er våre viktigste funn fra denne måneden.
Del gjerne innholdet med kollegaer og bruk det i møter og presentasjoner.
Innhold
- Privacy concerns influence behaviour
- Video content dominates Swedish media consumption in 2023
- AI skills have become a hiring priority
- Influencers can offer more comfort than acquaintances
- Widespread concern about misinformation in Norway
- Social media boosts offline friendships without harming social skills
Privacy concerns influence behaviour
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority has published its annual report about public attitudes towards digital privacy in Norway.
Key findings
1
Widespread importance of privacy
Privacy remains a major concern for Norwegians, with 83 per cent of respondents emphasising its importance. However, only 29 per cent feel they have control over how their data is used online. 50 per cent experience discomfort knowing how much personal information is available about them.
2
Privacy concerns influence behaviour
The survey reveals that privacy concerns lead many to alter their behaviour. 74 per cent have avoided downloading an app due to fears about data use, and 50 per cent have refrained from participating in social media debates or commenting on news sites out of concern for their privacy.
3
Resistance to personalised advertising
A clear 67 per cent of respondents oppose the use of their online activity data for personalised ads, with older individuals showing the strongest resistance. However, 15 per cent expressed support for this practice, showing a slight increase from previous years.
4
Low trust in tech companies
Trust levels in how private companies, mainly social media and gaming apps, handle personal data are notably low. Over 80 per cent of respondents expressed little or no trust in these platforms. In contrast, public institutions, such as the tax authority and police, enjoy much higher levels of trust.
5
AI is seen as a threat to privacy
The growing use of artificial intelligence raises concerns, with 69 per cent of respondents believing AI will compromise privacy by collecting excessive personal data or using it in ways people disagree with. 84 per cent support stronger government regulation of AI, though only 33 per cent believe the authorities can effectively regulate.
Video content dominates Swedish media consumption in 2023
Nordicom at the University of Gothenburg has published their annual report providing a detailed analysis of the Swedish population's daily media habits across platforms, covering radio, TV, newspapers, and digital media usage.
Key findings
1
95 per cent watched video content daily
In 2023, 95 per cent of Swedes consumed video content on an average day, a slight increase from the previous year. This includes scheduled television streaming services like YouTube and other online video platforms.
2
Daily social media usage remained stable
Social media usage maintained an 85 per cent daily reach, unchanged from the previous year. These platforms have surpassed radio (77%) and newspapers (66%) in daily reach.
3
Media usage totals over six and a half hours per day
In 2023, the average daily time spent on media reached 407 minutes, or around six hours and 47 minutes. Video content dominated, with Swedes dedicating about 138 minutes daily to visual media, slightly more than the 133 minutes spent on audio media (radio, podcasts, and music).
4
Decline in newspaper readership
Daily newspaper consumption dropped to 66 per cent in 2023, down from 73 per cent the previous year. The shift from paper to digital formats continued, with 56 per cent reading newspapers online and only 22 per cent opting for print versions.
AI skills have become a hiring priority
Microsoft and LinkedIn have published a report about the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. The report is based on a survey of 31,000 knowledge workers across 31 countries.
Key findings
1
Widespread AI adoption among employees
75 per cent of knowledge workers globally use AI at work, with 46 per cent having adopted it in the past six months. Most users report benefits such as increased time savings (90%), improved focus (85%), and enhanced creativity (84%).
2
Bring your own AI trend
A significant 78 per cent of AI users are bringing their own AI tools to the workplace without official approval from their organisations. This trend crosses all generations and is particularly strong in small and medium-sized companies.
3
Organisational inertia hampers AI integration
Despite 79 per cent of leaders agreeing that AI is critical for competitiveness, 60 per cent express concerns that their organisations lack a clear plan for implementing AI. This uncertainty is stalling broader business transformation efforts.
4
AI skills crucial for hiring
66 per cent of leaders say they would not hire someone without AI skills, and 71 per cent prefer a less experienced candidate with AI capabilities over a more experienced candidate without them. AI aptitude is rapidly becoming essential in the job market.
Influencers can offer more comfort than acquaintances
A new study from the University of Essex and the University of Sussex has examined the impact of one-sided relationships with media figures—like influencers, YouTubers or fictional characters—on people's emotional lives.
Key findings
1
Influencers support emotional needs
Many people turn to their favourite YouTubers or influencers when they feel lonely or sad. Even though these connections are one-sided, they can still provide emotional comfort.
2
Can feel better than friendships
People often felt that a strong bond with a favourite YouTuber or fictional character was more helpful for their emotional needs than weak real-life friendships, such as those with acquaintances.
3
Stable and reliable
Unlike real-life relationships, which can involve rejection or disappointment, these one-sided connections are seen as more reliable and consistent, offering steady comfort.
4
Greatest benefits for people with low self-esteem
Those with lower self-esteem found these media-based connections especially helpful when they didn’t get the emotional support they needed from real-life relationships.
Widespread concern about misinformation in Norway
The Norwegian Media Authority has conducted a study exploring the critical media literacy of the Norwegian population.
Read more (In Norwegian).
Key findings
1
High exposure to suspected false news
69 per cent of Norwegians reported encountering news online in the past six months that they believed to be false. Social media was the main platform, with 80 per cent of those surveyed identifying it as the source of misinformation.
2
Trust in traditional media
The survey found that Norwegians trust editor-controlled media far more than social media platforms. 66 per cent said traditional media helps them stay informed about current events, while only 40 per cent said the same about social media.
3
Difficulty verifying information
60 per cent of respondents found it challenging to assess whether online information is true. Only 13 per cent said it was easy to evaluate content authenticity, with younger people and men expressing greater confidence in their ability to detect false information.
4
Growing concern about AI-generated content
The report highlighted that AI tools are making it harder to detect manipulated content. When tested, a majority failed to correctly identify AI-generated images, demonstrating the difficulty of distinguishing between real and fabricated material.
5
Fear of societal impact
There is widespread concern that misinformation is eroding public trust in institutions. 83 per cent of older respondents were particularly worried about the damage to trust in authorities and media caused by false information.
Social media boosts offline friendships without harming social skills
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), St. Olavs Hospital, University of Amsterdam and Brown University have studied how social media use from ages 10 to 18 influences adolescents’ offline friendships and the development of social skills.
Key findings
1
Social media enhances offline friendships
Increased use of social media predicted more time spent with friends offline, suggesting that social media complements, rather than replaces, face-to-face interactions.
2
No direct effect on social skills
Social media use did not lead to changes in social skills. This suggests that while it may not harm skill development, it does not necessarily promote it.
3
Impact of social anxiety
Adolescents with higher levels of social anxiety who increased their social media usage experienced a slight decline in social skills, implying that they may struggle to translate online interactions into real-world competence.
4
Gender differences are negligible
The study found no significant differences in how boys and girls were affected by social media use in terms of their social skills and friendships.