US Adults Spend Over 11 Hours per Day Interacting with Media

Nielsen Total Audience Report recently revealed that nearly 50% of the average adult’s day is spent listening to, watching, reading or interacting with media. With live and time-shifted television accounting for a majority of an adult’s media usage, newer platforms are emerging as a result of accessible connectivity. The accessibility of TV-connected devices such as video game consoles and internet-connected devices provide consumers with an abundance of content, resulting in a 12% uptick in time spent on such devices between Q4 2017 and Q1 2018.

Various demographics influence the landscape of media consumption. Generational gaps show while older generations tend to use more traditional mediums for content and younger generations adopt new technology more readily. Radio, however, has proven to be unique in that it has no age factor. In terms of race and ethnicity, the study revealed that black adults are heavy users of all media types while Hispanics spend more time TV-connected devices and Asian Americans primarily use digital platforms.

Additional findings:

• Young adults ages 18-34 report spending 43% of their time consuming media on digital platforms.
• Viewing time increased by 11 minutes, six of which stemmed from TV-connected devices.
• 64% of adult smartphone users view video content on social networking sites/apps at least once per day.

Read more about Nielsen’s Total Audience Report.