Most US Young Adults Watch Mobile Video on Facebook, YouTube Daily

Less than a quarter of young adults watch mobile video on Twitter daily

October 4, 2016 | Video | Mobile | Demographics

Teens aren’t the only ones turning to YouTube to consume video content, young adults ages 18 to 20 are as well. According to June 2016 research, more than half of US young adults watch mobile video on the video-sharing site—and just as many view mobile video content on Facebook.

Native advertising software provider Sharethrough polled 300 US internet users ages 18 to 20, who were asked questions after being shown an autoplay in-feed native video ad.

Though a large share of respondents said they watched mobile video on Facebook and YouTube, nearly as many (50%) watched mobile video on Snapchat daily, and nearly half (42%) said they viewed mobile video content on Instagram every day. Twitter trailed behind with just 24% of young adults watching mobile video on that social platform each day.

Video habits are steadily moving to mobile. A survey from Millward Brown revealed that though time spent watching video on TV is still greater than on other devices, video habits are shifting, thanks in part to the proliferation of mobile devices entering the market, as well as growth of multiscreen usage.

According to the study, half of all video viewing happens on TV sets—split between live TV and on-demand TV. The other half comprises mainly mobile devices, which includes smartphones and tablets. Smartphones take the largest digital share, encompassing 22% of total daily time spent viewing video.