When people start to talk about the notion that print is dead, they have to be careful on how they phrase that statement. The printed word can appear in many formats and lately, the digital format is the most popular. On paper or on screen, the Newspaper Association of America is happy to announce that print is very much alive and growing.

The Reach Of Digital Newspapers Is Incredible

According to a 2014 study done by comScore and released by the Newspaper Association of America, the number of unique visitors to all digital newspaper websites was 164 million people from August 2013 to August 2014. The Newstex website points out that these numbers apply only to U.S. digital papers and U.S. users. That means that over half of the population of the United States regularly refers to digital newspapers for their information.

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The Percentages Don’t Lie

The study broke down this massive audience into some percentages that the newspaper industry was very happy to see. The biggest percent comes from the fact that 80 percent of all American adults who use the Internet in some form are accessing online newspapers. This is significant growth over past years and the newspaper industry hopes that this is the start of a long-term trend.

The report indicates that 38 percent of all digital newspaper content is being accessed by mobile computing devices, while desktops and laptops make up 34 percent of the digital newspaper audience. This is the first time that mobile devices were more prevalent than desktops and laptops and the Newstex website expects this trend to continue to the point where desktop and laptop digital newspaper access will be significantly eclipsed by mobile devices.

Young Women Are Accessing Digital Newspapers The Most

The fastest growing population segment for digital newspaper readers is women ages 18 to 24. According to the study, the number of women ages 18 to 24 accessing digital newspapers grew by 38 percent. The study also points out the over 90 percent of women ages 25 to 34 access digital newspapers, which is the largest of any demographic group.

The domination of women in the digital newspaper industry does not stop with the age group that runs from 18 to 24 years old. The study says that 21 percent of women ages 55 years old and up access digital content, while only 10 percent of men in the same age group utilize online newspapers.

The Data Indicates That Women Will Dominate The Market

When a demographic age group that runs from 18 to 24 years old shows such significant growth in only one year, then more growth can be expected from that group in the long term. The Newspaper Association of America estimates that the audience for digital newspapers grew by 25 million readers from August 2013 to August 2014. Young women made up a significant percentage of that growth and the dominance of young women in the digital newspaper market is not expected to end any time soon.