People in the UK spend more than five hours watching video content every day across all devices, amid a rise in the popularity of short-form clips on social media.
The latest annual report from regulator Ofcom found there has been a significant shift away from broadcast TV to social media for content consumption among younger viewers.
Ofcom said the “generation gap” is now more pronounced than ever, as Gen Z and Millennials increasingly turn to a range of digital platforms for content.
Ian Macrae of Ofcom noted: “The streaming revolution is stretching the TV generation gap, creating a stark divide in the viewing habits of younger and older people.”
With TikTok’s recent surge in popularity, it is perhaps no surprise that short-form video is dominating viewing numbers.
Eight in 10 of those aged 15+ say they have watched videos with a runtime of 10 minutes or less during the last year.
The most popular format for short-form is “how-to” videos, which were viewed by 64% of adults.
“News” topped the list last year but has fallen slightly this year to 59%, which puts it just behind “videos from the general public” (60%).
Still, the findings highlight how younger viewers consume news differently than older age groups.
Content creators will also be pleased to see how-tos lead the way, as they are widely used in marketing to drive engagement.
How-tos managed to beat out formats such as “videos from social media influencers” and “videos from entertainment programmes”.
Overall screen time came in at five hours and 15 minutes – a slight decline from the five hours and 40-minute figure from last year.
However, that is still almost a third of the average waking hours for an adult, which highlights why video content is such a major battleground for marketers and advertisers.
