US consumers now spend more time watching YouTube on their TVs than scrolling on mobile devices.

"Over the last 10 years, we've seen digital time spent with digital media double, exactly double," said our analyst Oscar Orozco on a recent episode of the "Behind the Numbers" podcast. "From four hours and 18 minutes a day on average, to eight hours and 36 minutes a day."

Here are some key ways in which media consumption has changed.

1. CTV finally surpasses traditional TV

For the first time ever, our analysts say connected TV (CTV) viewing will surpass traditional linear television in 2025.

This year, CTV will edge past linear TV by six minutes per day, according to EMARKETER's latest time spent forecast. This represents a dramatic reversal from just five years ago when the gap between traditional TV and CTV was approximately two hours.

"If you're looking for growth, it's things that you would associate with CTV. [Consumers are] not only on CTV, but they're primarily on CTV," said our analyst Ethan Cramer-Flood. "There's nothing else that's really growing. Things like social media, traditional media, digital audio, lots of other stuff, are flat or even declining."

What it means: The streaming wars that began roughly four years ago have significantly boosted CTV time as consumers have embraced multiple streaming services simultaneously. Rather than replacing one service with another, viewers are adding services, creating a cumulative effect that has finally tipped the scales away from traditional TV.

2. Older adults embrace YouTube more than teens

In a surprising revelation, our analysts say US consumers aged 55 and older spend more time watching YouTube than those under 18—and their usage is growing faster than any other age group.

• While 18-34 year-olds remain the heaviest YouTube users at over an hour per day, our analysts on the episode said the platform has achieved remarkable penetration among older demographics.

"Older age groups actually spend more time on YouTube than kids and teens do. And older age groups are growing their time with YouTube the fastest," said Cramer-Flood. "YouTube has really become, probably already is, the most universally popular platform out there."

What it means: YouTube's versatility has helped it capture attention across all demographics. The platform serves multiple use cases—from replacing linear TV with long-form content, to competing with social platforms, while also hosting podcasts and tutorials.

3. Mobile's share of digital time drops below 50%

For the first time in over a decade, our analysts say mobile devices now account for less than half of all digital media time, marking a significant shift in how US consumers interact with technology.

"The last time this happened was 13 years ago," said Orozco. "This was in 2012 and just to put it into context, in 2012 desktop and laptop time was over 50% of digital time."

While mobile usage continues to grow in absolute terms, its share of digital time is declining as consumers increasingly engage with larger screens and other connected devices.

"If you think about it psychologically, or just the way that we think about our media ecosystem, it's just been so mobile centric. Everything is about optimizing for mobile," said Cramer-Flood. "Primarily, we are shifting our time back in front of gigantic screens sitting on the couch… It's not like our time spent with mobile is declining. It's just the share is declining because our time with the bigger screens is surging much more."

What it means: The decline in mobile's share reflects increased multitasking behavior, with consumers often using mobile as a second screen while their primary attention is focused elsewhere. This divided attention creates new challenges for marketers trying to effectively reach consumers.

Listen to the full episode here.

This article was prepared with the assistance of generative AI tools to support content organization, summarization, and drafting. All AI-generated contributions have been reviewed, fact-checked, and verified for accuracy and originality by EMARKETER editors. Any recommendations reflect EMARKETER’s research and human judgment.