The average millennial (aged 16-30) with internet access spends 3.2 hours a day on their mobile devices – the equivalent of 22.4 hours – almost a whole day – every week.
This rises to 3.8 hours a day in Malaysia, where digital access is mobile-driven; 95% of the internet population in the country now owns a smartphone, according to Connected Life, a study of over 60,000 internet users worldwide from global research consultancy TNS.
Millennials prioritize social over other forms of media, with 63% using social media daily, or watching online video (59%). This age group are also the most likely to adopt new buying methods such as mobile payments (8% of millennials, globally do this daily). They also continue to consume media in traditional ways (e.g. TV, radio) but with much lower frequency than previous generations.
For older consumers, traditional media habits still hold strong with the 46-65 age group spending 3.1 hours each day watching TV, reading newspapers and listening to the radio; an hour and a half more than the average millennial.
Yet older consumers are still a shifting target, and are using online platforms on a much more regular basis. Those online aged 46-65 spend 1.5 hours a day on their phones, while 24% use Facebook on a daily basis.
This dual pace in consumer adoption rates is creating a growing ‘digital divide’ that is most evident in Western markets, particularly the US, UK, Germany and France, leaving many businesses struggling with how they can tailor content for different audiences.
In today’s fragmented media landscape, millennials are using even more platforms across IM, social and traditional channels. Almost seven in 10 (69%) of 16-30 year olds use instant messaging every day, up from 43% last year, while almost two hours a day are spent watching video on-demand and TV shows on the internet.