Media diets fragment as UK and U.S. adults approach 11 hours a day

Adults in the UK and U.S. spent nearly 11 cumulative hours a day consuming media, including time when they used multiple services or devices simultaneously, new research from Ampere Analysis found.

The company’s “Attention Economy” study examined how consumers selected media based on their mood, age and needs. The findings included overlapping activities such as using a smartphone while watching television or streaming video.

Streaming services recorded the highest daily engagement at 1 hour, 57 minutes, followed by social media at 1 hour, 46 minutes and YouTube at 1 hour, 35 minutes.

Consumers most often used streaming services for relaxation and immersion, while they turned to YouTube for discovery and to improve their mood. Social media was more commonly used to relieve boredom or provide a distraction.

Media habits also varied by age. Gen Alpha consumers ages 11 to 15 spent the most time gaming, at 1 hour, 56 minutes per day, and watching YouTube, at 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Gen Z consumers ages 16 to 29 spent the most time on social media, at 1 hour, 54 minutes, and music services, at 1 hour, 20 minutes. Generation X and baby boomers spent comparatively more time with streaming services, television channels and live sports.

Consumers in the UK and U.S. accessed an average of 11.5 media platforms each week, including pay TV, streaming services, social media, music streaming, gaming and broadcaster video-on-demand services. Subscription streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ accounted for an average of 4.1 services per week.

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Gen Alpha accessed an average of 13.6 platforms each week, the highest total of any age group.

Mobile devices expanded media consumption beyond the home, the study found. Fifty-five percent of music streaming users regularly listened outside the home, compared with 34% of podcast listeners, 20% of social media users and 11% of gamers.

Smartphones also supported simultaneous media use. Twenty-eight percent of Netflix users in the UK and U.S. regularly watched the service on a smartphone, while 33% of YouTube users said they used the platform when they “want something on in the background.”

“Today’s consumers have more varied media diets than ever before, selecting from an expanding menu of media depending on what they want in the moment. Whether they’re looking to relax, discover something new or simply fill spare time, each medium serves a different purpose. That’s today’s attention economy. For advertisers and broadcasters, understanding those different moments is just as important as understanding the audience itself,” Sam Nursall, research manager at Ampere Analysis, said.