Publishers could see audiences uninstall apps, as some users receive up to 50 alerts a day, analysis shows
It has become a feature of modern life – millions of phones simultaneously buzz or sound the alarm as users are notified of breaking news deemed too important to miss.
Now evidence is mounting that the prevalence of news alerts is giving rise to “alert fatigue”, with some mobile phone users peppered with as many as 50 notifications a day.
The rise of news aggregators such as Apple News and Google on mobile devices means some users can receive more than one alert about the same story.
Analysis by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that 79% of people surveyed on the subject around the world said they did not currently receive any news alerts during an average week. Crucially, 43% of those who did not receive alerts said they had actively disabled them. They complained of receiving too many or not finding them useful, according to the research, which covered 28 countries.
