Latest news with #mediahabits
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Revealed: The shockingly high amount of time the average Brit spends on their phone every day – so, how does your screentime stack up?
A new report has revealed the shockingly high amount of time that Britons spend on their phones each day. According to a survey of 6,416 adults conducted by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), people in the UK now spend a whopping three hours and 21 minutes doomscrolling. That is up from just one hour and 17 minutes spent on our phones back in 2015. Overall, the total time UK adults spend on screens each day has risen to a staggering seven hours and 27 minutes - 51 minutes more than a decade earlier. The data also reveals a growing generational divide between the media habits of phone-keen Gen Z and TV-loving older adults. Brits aged 15 to 24 now spend four hours and 49 minutes on their phones daily, with most of that time being spent on social media. Meanwhile, people aged 65 to 74 spend only one hour and 47 minutes on their phones but are in front of the television for four hours and 40 minutes on average. Dan Flynn, IPA deputy research director, says: 'It's a clear signal of how embedded mobile phones have become in our daily lives – always on, always within reach and increasingly central to how we consume content, connect and unwind.' For the first time in the 20 years that the IPA has been gathering screentime data, the UK is spending more time on mobile phones than sitting in front of the television. Mr Flynn says that this study reveals a 'milestone' moment for the UK's media habits. Britons still typically sit down in front of the TV after work, with use peaking in the evenings. Computer use, meanwhile, is strongly linked to the nine-to-five workday and drops off sharply once Brits start to log off. Phone use remains almost consistent throughout the entire day, only falling off between midnight and 4:00 am when people are asleep. According to the IPA, this suggests that mobile phones are now the constant media companion for most people. Denise Turner, the incoming IPA Research Director, says this data 'doesn't just confirm that mobile is now the dominant screen in our lives, it also underscores how rapidly our media habits are evolving.' Adults of all ages in the UK spend almost half their mobile device screen time on social media or messaging apps. There is a growing generational divide in media habits, as people aged 15 to 24 now spend four hours and 49 minutes on their phones daily, and only one hour 49 minutes using television sets (stock image) A further 20 per cent of Britons' time is spent using radio or audio apps, while 15 per cent of the time is spent on TV or video services. This comes amid growing concerns over how much time young people are spending on social media. Studies suggest that increasing time spent on social media can have adverse effects on some teenagers, including worsening mental health, poor sleep, and increased risk of bullying. The media watchdog OFCOM is poised to introduce a set of new rules for tech giants designed to limit exposure to harmful content. Under the UK's Online Safety Act, OFCOM would have the power to hand out large fines if children are exposed to content related to topics including suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography. However, some campaign groups such as Smartphone Free Childhood are calling for restrictions or outright bans on young people having phones. Recently, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle suggested children's social media time could be cut down by law to two hours per day outside of school time and before 10 pm. However, experts are sceptical whether such measures would be effective. The IPA's report also suggests that changing media habits are impacting the emotional states of people of all ages. Those surveyed by the report were 52 per cent more likely to say they felt relaxed while watching TV than while watching video on a smartphone. Likewise, participants were 55 per cent more likely to feel stressed while using their phones. Lindsey Clay, chief executive of Thinkbox, a marketing body for commercial TV channels, said: 'We watch TVs and use mobile phones for very different reasons. Worrying which gets more time is like worrying if people are flossing their teeth more than playing the piano. 'What's chilling is that much mobile time is spent on toxic social media, fuelling the youth mental-health crisis and disengagement with trusted news.' METHODS FOR PARENTS TO KEEP THEIR CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE Children as young as two are using social media, research from charity Barnardo's has suggested. Internet companies are being pushed to do more to combat harmful content online but parents can also take steps to alter how their children use the web. Here are some suggestions of how parents can help their children. Both iOS and Google offer features that enable parents to filter content and set time limits on apps. For iOS devices, such as an iPhone or iPad, you can make use of the Screen Time feature to block certain apps, content types or functions. On iOS, this can be done by going to settings and selecting Screen Time. For Android, you can install the Family Link app from the Google Play Store. Talk to your children Many charities, including the NSPCC, say talking to children about their online activity is vital to keep them safe. Its website features a number of tips on how to start a conversation with children about using social media and the wider internet, including having parents visit sites with their children to learn about them together and discussing how to stay safe online and act responsibly. There are tools available for parents to learn more about how social media platforms operate. Net Aware, a website run in partnership by the NSPCC and O2, offers information about social media sites, including age requirement guidance. The World Health Organisation recommends parents should limit young children to 60 minutes of screen time every day. The guidelines, published in April, suggest children aged between two and five are restricted to an hour of daily sedentary screen time. They also recommend babies avoid any sedentary screen time, including watching TV or sitting still playing games on devices.
Forbes
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
More Than A Quarter Of Americans No Longer Watch Live TV, Study Says
An increasing number of people, mostly younger people, aren't watching live TV anymore, even popular ... More events like the Super Bowl. Fewer and fewer people are watching live television, and the drop is especially notable among young people. A new study from Attest, a New York-based consumer research platform, finds that 28% of consumers say they don't watch live TV (shows on television viewed on traditional broadcast or cable) on an average day. That number has dropped steadily over the past two years, going from 20% in 2023 to 24% last year and now to more than a quarter of respondents. Perhaps not surprisingly, the decrease is especially notable among young people. Forty-one percent of those under 30 years old, also known as Generation Z, say they don't typically watch live TV. That compares to 27% of adults 31-49 and just 20% of those over 50. Among those Gen Zers who do watch live TV, they are most likely to watch only 30 minutes to an hour per day. By contrast, a quarter of the demo reports streaming TV for one to two hours a day, while another 25% say they stream three to four hours a day. The findings are notable yet not particularly surprising. A long steady shift in consumer media habits has been going on since the advent of the digital video recorder and later rise of streaming services available across devices—something that has been playing out for more than two decades. Cord cutting, or getting rid of traditional cable service, has become much more common over the past 10 years as consumers can get their entertainment from other sources at a lower price. That has impacted traditional media companies, which have in turn launched their own streaming services to compete. Young people coming of age during this time didn't grow up watching live TV as frequently as their parents. They had video on demand choices and never learned to tune in at a certain time for a show like their parents. They also had more flexibility in how to watch their entertainment. While previous generations could only use TVs, now you can watch on laptops, smartphones and tablets. These options have also decreased live TV viewership. The results of that shift are seeing in TV ratings, which have fallen for almost every live TV event. The Super Bowl is one of the few events that can continue to attract a huge audience, but even live awards shows like the Oscars and Grammys have seen audiences fall to record lows. Technology appears to be impacting other traditional media, too. Daily radio listenership has fallen from 37% two years ago to 31% this year. Attest said it has also seen a drop in those listening a few times weekly, now at 23%. And those who say they never listen to the radio has gone from 11% two years ago to 16% today. For more than a decade, streaming music listening has been rising, a method that allows more control over what you listen to.
