50 notifications/day: How 'alert fatigue' is changing mobile news consumption
What's the story
The increasing frequency of news alerts is leading to a phenomenon called "alert fatigue," according to a study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
The research found that some mobile phone users are bombarded with as many as 50 notifications in a single day.
The rise of news aggregators like Apple News and Google on mobile devices has added to this problem, often resulting in multiple alerts for the same story.
User feedback
43% respondents have disabled news alerts themselves
The study revealed that a whopping 79% of respondents globally do not receive any news alerts in an average week.
Notably, 43% of these respondents had intentionally turned off notifications, citing alert overload or lack of relevance as the main reasons.
This trend was observed across 28 countries, indicating a widespread discontent with the current state of news alert systems.
Alert expansion
Use of news alerts has grown over last decade
The use of news alerts has grown over the last decade. In the US, weekly use has jumped from 6% to 23% since 2014.
The UK has also seen a similar rise, with usage going from 3% to 18%.
The study also highlighted BBC News' stronghold on its audience, predicting nearly four million people in the UK would be notified every time it sends an alert.
Publisher dilemma
Publishers are trying to find a balance
The study found that publishers are well aware of the fine line they have to walk between keeping users informed and annoying them with too many alerts.
In the UK, The Times sends no more than four alerts a day while Financial Times sends general news alerts to everyone and a personalized one at the same time every day for those who opt-in.
However, publishers like Jerusalem Post and CNN Indonesia were found sending up to 50 alerts each day.
Alert statistics
News outlets' average alert count per day
A research tool that monitors news alerts found The New York Times averages 10 a day, Tagesschau in Germany averages 1.9, NDTV in India sends an average of 29 alerts per day while BBC News averages 8.3 a day.
The Guardian also sends about seven alerts a day according to the same research tool.
Industry impact
Users want to protect themselves from constant distractions
Nic Newman, the report's lead author, said publishers are wary of sending too many alerts as it could lead to uninstalls.
He explained that while they know they shouldn't send too many individually, there are always some "bad actors" who spoil the party.
This alert fatigue is partly due to news avoidance as users want to protect themselves from constant distractions throughout the day.