Push notifications and news snacking: The impact of mobile news alert framing on reader engagement

Abstract

How news media, such as newspapers and magazines, is consumed has dramatically changed due to technological developments, such as mobile and high-speed Internet technology. As a result, there has been a dramatic shift in consumer consumption of news from desktop and television to mobile platforms such as smartphones and tablets. Due to the shift of news consumption from desktop and television platforms to mobile, journalists have had to consider how news headlines and alerts must be tailored to match the distinctive characteristics of mobile platforms and consumers’ engagement patterns on such devices. Drawing on construal theory (CLT), this study will examine how mobile alerts should be framed to optimize engagement. Overall, it finds a combination of abstract construal through combination of a gain and other frames results in heightened levels of curiosity in readers leading to further engagement with news products.