http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 7:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
Really? Why? Central tendency doesn't do justice when reporting some statistics. Example: If Bill Gates walked into a cafe in Seattle, then the average customer in that place would be a billionaire. Is that an accurate picture of the cafe's patrons? No, no it's not.

This study is worthless. It requires much more sophisticated data analysis than just calculating means. Moreover, how they chose to operationalize information ("as data that is delivered for use by a person") leaves much to be desired. Since when do phone calls, print, and tv accurately transfer into data? Crossing these very different mediums tells us nothing.

This study is rudimentary at best. At most, it tells us how the average American spends their time... and again, using means isn't the most robust way to report that data.

I'm embarrassed to see a University study produce such poor results...]]>Dec 9th 2009 11:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/And the point you bring is in itself interesting. It all depends upon the way things are presented, the sample, the time, the infinite amount of variables. No, this isn't accurate for everyone, and everything depends. That's why these things are "averages" and have "margins of error." ]]>Dec 10th 2009 12:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 10th 2009 3:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/This is actually one of the stupidest things I have ever heard of. ]]>Dec 10th 2009 4:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
The points you bring up are in fact the problems that ultimately make this report worthless. Thanks for agreeing with me, even though you don't seem to want to be in that position.

]]>Dec 10th 2009 7:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 7:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
for a second I thought I blacked out again and wrote that.]]>Dec 9th 2009 10:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 10:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
Then when the time comes, don't upgrade to a cyberbrain.]]>Dec 10th 2009 3:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 7:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 7:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Right, when all our download speed are at 1gb/s. ]]>Dec 9th 2009 8:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 11:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 10th 2009 5:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 7:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
Yeah - I think its only movies in theater and on DVD.

Televised and downloaded films fit into the other categories - if they were included it would probably be a lot more.

Once blu-ray gets more popular I bet that stat would rise.]]>Dec 9th 2009 9:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
I would think it would stay the same with bluray harvesting from the DVD distribution channel]]>Dec 9th 2009 10:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
Information is power.]]>Dec 9th 2009 10:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/What the hell are you doing on Engadget?]]>Dec 10th 2009 11:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 10:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/It's counting words, not bytes.]]>Dec 9th 2009 8:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
If you look at the compressed bytes pie chart in the linked study, computer games are about 1/2, all TV is about 1/3, and the rest totals about 1/6, with phone at only 0.04%]]>Dec 9th 2009 8:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
I believe it is referring to all material accessed by a phone.

So, if you have an smart-phone, it would include all the data for mail, web, and maps, as well as photos, music and movies accessed on the phone. That adds up quick.]]>Dec 9th 2009 9:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
Smart phones have nearly nothing to do with useage of 1.7GB/day. Most carriers "unlimited plans" are capped at 5GB/month. Even if a user maxes their 5GB/month, so they do are limited to an maximum average of 0.16GB/day based on the usage of every byte of the 5GB/month cap. That leaves over 1.5GB/day unaccounted for. Dont forget this is for the average american....who may or may not have a data plan for their phone.

IMO many of the values look inflated, unless the bitrate of radio is huge, I find it hard to believe the average american consumes 3.6gigs of radio a day.]]>Dec 9th 2009 11:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 10th 2009 4:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Yes, considering consumption is necessary to life. Obviously, if you've never consumed you must be a day old, and starving. Here, have a cookie!]]>Dec 9th 2009 9:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/On a good day i can poop 160gigabytes, Compressed]]>Dec 10th 2009 2:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 10th 2009 12:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
In a way, yes. The reason the divx is 1gb is due to compression. Compression = less data, ie throwing out redundant data. Take an uncompressed version and throw it on that 50gb disc and you've got more information.]]>Dec 10th 2009 1:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 10th 2009 3:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/Dec 9th 2009 8:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/study-finds-americans-consume-34-gigabytes-of-information-per-da/
We really cant help the bandwidth used for digital cable/sat TV, So I think that may skew it a bit to the high side.]]>Dec 9th 2009 8:27PM