Moms and Media 2018: Smart Speakers, Smartphones, Social Media
By Edison Research
Moms and Media 2018 brought us more mobile behavior, new media consumption and kids on technology. For the first time, Moms and Media combined two separate studies to showcase not only the way moms interact with media and technology, but also moms’ view on children and technology.
With data points drawn from both the Infinite Dial series from Edison Research and Triton Digital, and a survey fielded by the Research Moms at Edison, the latest report shows how moms in the United States continue to own their tech toolkit, as well as how they perceive the influence of technology on children.
Moms in 2018 continue their mobile tendencies, maintaining a firm grip on smartphones. With smartphone ownership among moms still on the rise, the mobile device remains a must-have. In 2018 we see that 92% of moms own a smartphone.
With those smartphones, moms are consuming media, engaging social sites and staying organized with various apps. They are even talking to their phones, and the smartphones are talking back. Two-thirds of smartphone moms report using the voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant.
In 2018, talking to devices is a trend on the rise. We see smart speakers definitely working their way into moms’ routine this year. Smart speaker ownership has almost quadrupled, with Amazon Alexa leading the way. The report shows that 23% of moms own some type of smart speaker, up from the 6% that said so last year.
Moms have had a history of strong social media engagement. While 2018 still reflects a healthy social media presence of moms, usage is down from previous years, with 89% of moms now using social media compared to where it was at 93% last year.
We know that technology is a major force in the life of a mom, but how does that translate to children? Managing children’s exposure to technology is a challenge, as it continues to integrate itself into their daily lives at home and school. Four in ten moms report being less restrictive with their children using technology than they expected to be, while about a quarter (24%) said they are more restrictive than they expected.
For the full 2018 Moms and Media report from Edison Research see below.
