LONDON—A new survey highlights just how important media consumption has become, with consumers in the U.K. and U.S. now spending almost 11 hours a day consuming media, and just how diverse and fragmented those habits are.
The new research from Ampere Analysis shows that the average consumer in those two markets spends more time consuming media than sleeping or working and that consumers are increasingly selecting from a rich menu of media depending on their mood, age and needs.
“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," explained Sam Nursall, research manager, Ampere Analysis. "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."
Key findings include:
- The average American and British adult spends 11 cumulative hours engaged with media products every day. This includes overlapping activities, such as using a phone while watching TV or streaming.
- Streaming services (1:57), social media (1:46), and YouTube (1:35) attract the highest levels of daily media engagement.
- Consumers build their media diets around different moods and needs. Streaming services are most often used for relaxation and immersion, YouTube for discovery and lifting users’ mood, while social media is used to relieve boredom or provide distraction.
- Media diets also differ by age. Gen Alpha (11-15) spends the most time on YouTube (1:45) and gaming (1:56), while Gen Z (16-29) spends the most time on social media (1:54) and music services (1:20). Generation X and Baby Boomers spend relatively more time with streaming services, TV channels and live sports.
- Consumers in the U.S and U.K. access an average of 11.5 media platforms every week, including pay TV, streaming services, social media, music streaming, gaming and broadcaster VOD. Streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ account for 4.1 of these services per week. Gen Alpha accesses an average of 13.6 platforms, the highest of any age group.
- Mobile devices have expanded where media is consumed. More than half (55%) of music streaming users regularly listen outside the home, alongside 34% of podcast listeners, 20% of social media users and 11% of gamers.
- Mobile devices have also driven higher daily media engagement by making simultaneous media use easier. In the U.S. and U.K. for example, more than one quarter (28%) of Netflix users regularly watch the service on their smartphone.
- One third (33%) of YouTube users say they use the platform when they “want something on in the background”.
The Ampere Analysis “Attention Economy” survey was fielded in the U.S. and U.K. among respondents aged 11-64.
