Trend Panel: Morning Transit Time, Music Time
After querying our Trend Panelists about their entertainment choices for the beach, MobileBehavior sought some quick insights about their morning commutes. We asked panelists how they commuted to work, what they did during the trip, and what media/technologies they used to do so. We sent a short text message survey in the morning, hoping to catch them as close to their commutes as possible and reduce recall error.
Since our last survey showed that many brought a book or magazine to the beach, we wondered if this survey would show the same desire to disconnect en route to work. Not close. The overwhelming majority used an electronic gadget during their commutes.
Of the 28 panelists who partook in the survey, 20 said they listened to music. This was not too surprising given the pervasiveness of music in youths’ lives (you may remember that an iPod or mp3 player was the second most popular item that our panelists indicated they would take to the beach). Almost three quarters of those respondents used a handheld electronic gadget to do so, including an iPhone (six), iPod (six also, making Apple’s total representation 12), other cell phone (one), or other mp3 player (one). Another four panelists said they used another type of music player. As all of these panelists drove or took a taxi to their offices, we can guess that they listened to the car’s radio.
Every panelist who indicated they read on their way to work either rode a subway or train (which is great news considering the recent focus on distracted driving!). Four panelists indicated they read a book, with one using an eBook reader to do so. Rounding out the readers was one respondent who read a newspaper.
A couple of people used their time on commuter trains to catch up on some sleep (a dangerous game on a train unless you’re the last stop!), and one panelist communicated with a colleague on the way to the office. Given the video capabilities of so many laptops, cell phones and mp3 players, we were a bit surprised that not one panelist watched videos.
What do you do on the way to work? Click here to take our quick survey
