Adoption and regular use of portable devices for movie consumption purposes among University of Salamanca students

Abstract

This paper studies how digital natives’ film consumption habits have changed, using as a starting point a sample compound by university students between the ages of 18 and 24. The main objective we try to achieve is to show how important are becoming portable devices for the consumption of cinema and how they are affecting young adults’ habits of film consumption. The methodology applied is the statistical analysis of data, especially a quantitative one, collected from systematic surveys of closed questions. The results show how portability has become a key factor over the last couple of decades when consuming films and series. In this context, fragmented, and fragmentary cinematographic content is gaining more and more importance among young consumers. As an effect of this phenomenon, digital natives demand to watch cinema anywhere, anytime, and how they want it, a wish that the Video On Demand platforms (from now on, VOD platforms) have granted them. However, this environment where young adults are hyperconnected to these services has an effect of compulsive consumption of audiovisual materials upon these spectators, a behaviour better known as binge–watching. Something that, on the other hand, is typical of our society, in which immediacy and speed culture are crucial.