As of June 2020, 62 percent of parents to U.S. teens aged 14 to 17 years stated that their kids were spending more than four hours per day on electronic devices since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 32 percent of responding parents stated that their teens had used electronic devices daily for more than four hours before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the pandemic triggered a rise in the use of electronic devices among American children under 13 and teenagers with screentime now double that of what it used to be across all age groups.

YouTube, Netflix and Instagram dominate

In an ongoing survey between 2015 and 2020 it was reported that the most popular video platforms among teens in the U.S. were Netflix and YouTube, and the pandemic has done little to shift that. Cable TV viewership continued to decline throughout 2020, while Hulu rose in popularity during this time. Meanwhile, despite a slight drop in viewership Netflix and YouTube retained their positions as the top two video services after the onset of the pandemic. YouTube and Instagram were also named the most popular social media channels among teens and young adults, as of the third quarter of 2020. Due to their booming popularity, it is no wonder that advertisers have been increasingly targeting these networks, with social media add spend having been on the rise each year since 2017. The biggest growth surge has come from mobile advertising, while spend on desktop advertising has remained nearly the same.

Texting and phone calls most preferred during lockdown

As most of the world entered lockdown during the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, teens in the U.S. were asked which technologies they had used to virtually connect with friends and family during this time. 'Texting' was the most preferred method, named by over 80 percent followed by phone calls. Meanwhile, video chat and social media came in third.

In 2020, almost a quarter of American children spent more than four hours using screen daily. About the same amount did not use any screen media over that same period of time. In 2021, more than half of American children of all ages spent more than three hours watching online content outside of homework.

In 2023, users in Indonesia spent on average 6.05 hours a day on their mobile phones, marking an increase from approximately 5.6 hours in 2020. Mobile users in Thailand and India had the second and third highest daily screen times among the selected countries, averaging 5.64 and 4.77 hours, respectively. With the exception of Indonesia and South Korea, all the surveyed APAC countries saw an increase in mobile screen times over the previous year.

During an August 2020 survey, 63 percent of responding parents from the United States reported to having lowered their standards for what they deem as appropriate screen time for their children due to the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, 70 percent of U.S. parents wished they had better ways to monitor their children's screen time.

In 2020, the adult smartphone users in China spent an average of about two hours and 51 minutes per day on their smartphones. Compared to the previous year, daily usage time increased by over 23 percent. According to the forecast, smartphone users were projected to extend their screen time to almost four hours a day by 2023.

In 2020, American children spent almost three quarters of their screen time for televison and video viewing. In contrast, they only used one percent of that time for homework. According to the source, the average screen use by day has increased by eight minutes compared to 2011.

Female teens aged 13 to 18 years had an average daily entertainment screen time of eight hours and two minutes in the United States in 2021. In comparison, male tweens had an average screen time of six hours and 11 minutes.

According to the source, American children under two years spent an average time of 49 minutes per day consuming media on screen. However, the actual screen time varied considerably among this group: whereas 56 percent of children did not consume any media on screen, almost one third (31 percent) spent more than one hour with screen media.

This statistic describes the average time spent online by individuals in Italy as of April 2020, by different age group and by device. According to data, the peak was recorded by individuals aged between 18 and 24 years browsing online with a their smartphones. Their time spent online amounted to over five hours a day.

How much time do people spend on social media? As of 2024, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 143 minutes per day, down from 151 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is Brazil, with online users spending an average of three hours and 49 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in the U.S. was just two hours and 16 minutes. Global social media usageCurrently, the global social network penetration rate is 62.3 percent. Northern Europe had an 81.7 percent social media penetration rate, topping the ranking of global social media usage by region. Eastern and Middle Africa closed the ranking with 10.1 and 9.6 percent usage reach, respectively. People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends, but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events friends. Global impact of social mediaSocial media has a wide-reaching and significant impact on not only online activities but also offline behavior and life in general. During a global online user survey in February 2019, a significant share of respondents stated that social media had increased their access to information, ease of communication, and freedom of expression. On the flip side, respondents also felt that social media had worsened their personal privacy, increased a polarization in politics and heightened everyday distractions.

In 2021, American consumers spend less screen-based leisure time watching television and movies than in the previous year. On the other hand, gaming and watching online videos were on the rise with 16 and 12 percent of screen time respectively over that same period of time. Social media and e-books consumption remained consistent in 2020 and in 2021 in the United States.

As at March 31, 2020, the average time spent per viewer watching television was 7 hours and 8 minutes, compared to 5 hours 36 minutes at the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia. There was a marked increase in TV viewership in Malaysia since the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 18. The MCO essentially restricts the movement of Malaysians out of the home to only essential activities such as grocery shopping or medical emergencies. The MCO has been extended for the third time to May 12.

In 2023, children in the United Kingdom spent an average of 127 minutes per day on TikTok. This was followed by Instagram, as children in the UK reported using the app for an average of 40 minutes daily. Children in the UK aged between four and 18 years also used Facebook for 15 minutes a day on average in the measured period.

Mobile ownership and usage among UK children In 2021, around 60 percent of kids aged between eight and 11 years in the UK owned a smartphone, while children aged between five and seven having access to their own device were approximately 30 percent. Mobile phones were also the second most popular devices used to access the web by children aged between eight and 11 years, as tablet computers were still the most popular option for users aged between three and 11 years. Children were not immune to the popularity acquired by short video format content in 2020 and 2021, spending an average of 97 minutes per day engaging with TikTok, as well as over 50 minutes on the YouTube app in 2021.

Children data protection In 2021, 37 percent of U.S. parents and 44 percent of UK parents reported being slightly concerned with their children’s device usage habits. While the share of parents reporting to be very or extremely concerned was considerably smaller, children are considered among the most vulnerable digital audiences and need additional attention when it comes to data and privacy protection. According to a study conducted during the first quarter of 2022, 76 percent of children’s apps hosted in the Google Play Store and 67 percent of apps hosted in the Apple App Store transmitted users’ locations to advertisers.

Additionally, 42 percent of kids’ apps were found to collect persistent identifiers, such as users’ IP addresses, which could potentially lead to Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) violations in the United States. In the United Kingdom, companies have to take into account several obligations when considering online environments for children, including an age-appropriate design and avoiding sharing children’s data.

The average Dane spent 224 minutes, or close to four hours weekly online on their phone, as of 2020. The youngest survey respondents, aged between 15 and 24 years spent 316 minutes, or nearly six hours weekly.

In 2023, Android users in Singapore spent an average of 4.51 hours per day using their mobile devices. This represents an increase from the 4.17 hours that users in the country spent on their devices in 2020.

Estimates suggest that in 2024 U.S. adults will spend an average of nearly three hours watching traditional TV each day. This figure has generally fallen in recent years and the downward trend is forecast to continue in the years to come. The only exception to this trend is the year 2020, when consumption increased due to a growth in media consumption during the coronavirus outbreak. Screen time Although average daily time spent watching TV appears to be decreasing, this does not necessarily mean that people are spending less time in front of screens; this drop is likely due to an increasing amount of time spent with phones, tablets, and laptops. With on-demand streaming services such as Netflix gaining massive popularity, people can watch a huge range of programming whilst on the go, meaning that screen time is no longer limited to time spent at home in front of the TV. Young people around the world have been especially quick to adopt smartphone-based video streaming habits meaning that television screen time will likely fall even further in the future. Television in the U.S. As mentioned above, the way people are consuming their video entertainment content is rapidly changing in the United States. By 2027, estimates suggest that only 47.8 million U.S. households will pay for traditional TV services, down from over 100 million as of 2014. In order to compete for people’s business, cable and satellite providers must find a way to adapt in a way the meets the needs of today’s increasingly mobile consumers. Some are launching their own streaming services in a bid to tackle cord-cutting, most notably Comcast.

According to a 2023 survey conducted in the United States, teenagers spent an average of 4.8 hours every day on social media platforms. Girls spent 5.3 hours on social networks daily, compared to 4.4 hours for boys. YouTube and TikTok were the most popular online networks among those aged 13 to 19, with 1.9 and 1.5 hours of average daily engagement, respectively. The most used platform for girls was TikTok, while the most used platform for boys was YouTube. Are teens constantly connected to social media? YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are the most attractive and time-consuming platforms for young internet users. A survey conducted in the U.S. in 2023 found that 62 percent of teenagers were almost constantly connected to Instagram, and 17 percent were almost constantly connected to TikTok. Overall, 71 percent of teens used YouTube daily, and 47 percent used Snapchat daily. Furthermore, YouTube had a 93 percent reach among American teens in 2023, down from 95 percent in 2022. Teens and their internet devices For younger generations especially, social media is mostly accessed via mobile devices, and almost all teenagers in the United States have smartphone access. A 2023 survey conducted in the U.S. found that 92 percent of teens aged 13 to 14 years had access to a smartphone at home, as well as 97 percent of those aged 15 to 17. Additionally, U.S. girls were slightly more likely than their male counterparts to have access to a smartphone.

In 2023, almost half of the surveyed parents in Canada reported enforcing weekday limits for their children's screen time, while 32 scheduled screen time limits for their kids. Additionally, 19 percent of parents said they collect their children's devices for the same purpose.

In 2021, adults in the U.S. spent an average of 485 minutes (eight hours and five minutes) with digital media each day. This figure marked an increase of 11 minutes compared to the previous year.

Traditional vs. digital media usage amid COVID-19

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic boosted media consumption across the globe. It also rapidly accelerated the shift from traditional to digital media consumption that has been unfolding in the United States and other markets for the better part of a decade. In 2020, consumers in the U.S. spent less than 350 minutes per day using analog media and entertainment formats such as television, radio, or print media. In contrast, they devoted an estimated 470 minutes to digital media and entertainment channels. Even though some traditional formats saw a temporary uptick in demand in 2020, the latest forecasts distinctly show that the media usage gap will continue to widen.

How do users spend their time online?

There has been a great influx of digital media and entertainment formats in recent years. According to a survey carried out in the early days of the pandemic, online video streaming ranked among the most popular digital media activities in the United States. This finding still holds true in 2022, as platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, or Disney+ continue to add highly anticipated titles to their extensive content catalogs. Other popular digital media categories include online audio, social media, and gaming. Not only did online gaming traffic skyrocket in 2020, but young internet users in particular also spend more time watching gaming video content on services like Twitch nowadays.

During a 2020 survey of parents in the United States, it was found that children eight years and younger spent 105 minutes a day watching TV, DVDs, or videos. According to respondents, 32 minutes a day was spent reading or being read to. Meanwhile, total screen time for children eight years and younger was 144 minutes a day.