By Keegan Skidmore
Posted on July 20 20:07, 2011
So here’s an interesting nugget of information. A month or two ago Neilson released a study on where content consumers use their digital devices and found that 25% of iPad owners, 17% of eReader owners and 28% of smartphone owners use the devices in the bathroom.
The bathroom isn’t the most popular place to use these devices, but it’s not the least popular place either. In fact, for the iPad, the bathroom outranked ‘Commuting’ and for eReaders, users are more opt to bring it to the bathroom than they are to share it with family or friends.
For Seinfeld fans, the idea of using an eReader on the toilet might remind you of the episode where George brings a book on French Impressionism into the restroom at Brentano’s. “Without the bathroom there’d be no books!” George declares to Jerry after he’s been caught.
By George’s logic, the bathroom would seem like the perfect place to find a device designed for consuming media. In fact, I’ll take the point one step further and say the use of digital devices in the bathroom signifies their last important step as mainstays in today’s society. People find them so comfortable and accommodating they’re taking them into their most personal spaces.
This all seems fine to me. People pay a lot of money for these devices so as long as they’re not hurting anyone (or say driving) I have no problem where they choose to use them. Advertising on these devices however, is a totally different story.
As far as I’m aware, what’s been accomplished with geotargeted ads marks the first time that advertisers have the ability to target consumers based purely on location. So if you have an ad for an upscale boutique in Boston you can deliver it to women living within 15 miles of the store. Or better yet, you can deliver it to the mobile device of women who happen to be walking by the store? It’s very powerful.
But do you see the implications for more personal situations? Though there’s nothing new about reading or consuming content in the bathroom, there is definitely something new and slightly creepy about seeing an ad from Charmin while you're sitting there.
Not saying Charmin or any other advertiser has or would want to do this, but the idea that they could is the creepy part. And not just in the bathroom, but anywhere else you might enjoy taking or using your digital device. Like the bedroom for instance. You know the iPad has a web cam? I won’t go there.
Anyway, the idea is that it certainly makes you think twice about the convenience of these devices. Or maybe it makes you excited about getting ads from Charmin, I don’t know. All I can think about is how much lighter a book about French Impressionism would be on an iPad.
