“Kids use their phones too much these days, these kids are always glued to the screen, when we were their age, we used to play outside all day.” Do these phrases sound familiar to you?

Nowadays, adults seem to think teens and kids are too dependent on technology and don’t enjoy their time as much as they did back in the day.

This is, of course, up for discussion and debate, because what could be considered normal or how a teen would have fun would change with time. However, a 2018 survey showed that 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online “almost constantly.”

Real Research, an online survey app, previously launched a survey to understand teenagers’ usage of social media. The survey showed that Facebook was seen as the most popular social media platform among teens. Moreover, the majority believe teenagers are more engaged on social media than other age groups.

To better understand teenagers’ behavior and how they use social media, a new survey on video consumption among teenagers has been published.

Highlights:

  • 47.66% of the respondents claimed teenagers watch videos daily.
  • Social trends influence teenagers’ choice of streaming platform, according to 20.74%.
  • Over 40% noticed that teenagers primarily watch videos on smartphones.

Video Consumption Among Teenagers

When asked about the average time teenagers spend watching videos specifically per day, 30.02% said 30 minutes to 1 hour, 23.07% said 1 to 2 hours, and 20.22% said less than thirty minutes. Moreover, 14.55% felt that teenagers spend more than three hours watching videos per day, and 12.14% believed 2 to 3 hours were the average time.

How-often-do-teenagers-watch-videos
Figure 1: How often do teenagers watch videos?

As most teenagers use their smartphones daily, video consumption among teenagers was wildly popular, as the majority (47.66%) believed that teens often watch videos daily. Moreover, 28.24% stated that teens often watch videos 4 to 6 times a week, 11.89% chose 2 to 3 times a week, 4.78% said once a week, while a minority of 3.72% never watched videos and 3.71% rarely did.

Which Videos and on Which Platform?

The most popular type of video among teenagers was short video clips, as in TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts (19.67%). Other popular video types were gaming content on Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming (14.17%), vlogs and personal content (15.85%), and educational videos such as tutorials and documentaries (6.58%).

What-types-of-videos-have-you-seen-teenagers-watch-most-often
Figure 2: What types of videos have you seen teenagers watch most often?

As most teenagers use their smartphones daily, video consumption among teenagers was wildly popular, as the majority (47.66%) believed that teens often watch videos daily. Moreover, 28.24% stated that teens often watch videos 4 to 6 times a week, 11.89% chose 2 to 3 times a week, 4.78% said once a week, while a minority of 3.72% never watched videos and 3.71% rarely did.

Which Videos and on Which Platform?

The most popular type of video among teenagers was short video clips, as in TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts (19.67%). Other popular video types were gaming content on Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming (14.17%), vlogs and personal content (15.85%), and educational videos such as tutorials and documentaries (6.58%).

Which-platform-do-you-think-teenagers-primarily-use-to-watch-videos
Figure 3: Which platform do you think teenagers primarily use to watch videos?

How To Pick the Platform?

Each streaming platform is curated to appeal to a certain group of users and audiences. Each one has its advantages and a form of content that’s popular.

Social trends play a significant role in shaping teenagers’ streaming platform preferences, with 20.74% of respondents citing it as the main deciding factor. Other factors that mostly influence a teenager’s choice were content availability on the platform (17.59%), the platform’s user interface (17.28%), recommendations from friends and family (15.16%), and the cost of a subscription (12.08%).

Teens and Their Love for Smartphones

Do you remember that joy when you were given a smartphone for the first time?

You feel like you are finally an adult, and it gives you a sense of freedom. A past study showed that teenagers favored smartphones over gaming and social media as their favorite forms of technology.

That’s why it doesn’t come as a surprise that a massive portion of the respondents (40.8%) observed that smartphones were the devices teenagers primarily watch videos on. 13.21% said video consumption among teenagers was popular on a gaming console, 11.18% stated a laptop or a computer, 10.98% believed televisions were where teenagers watched videos, and 10.36% mentioned tablets.

Methodology

 
Survey TitleSurvey on Video Consumption Among Teenagers
DurationOctober 24 – October 31, 2023
Number of Participants10,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia,… Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.