Social networking contributes hugely to time spent on both small- and large-screen devices. Some 89.1% of respondents in Romania had visited social platforms in the month prior to polling in 2020, spending 2:21 per day, on average. Print readership registered a steep decline. As digital engagement rises in Romania, the reach of print media is shrinking fast.

Moreover, time spent with PCs and tablets declined marginally to 4:07. Social media usage is a huge contributor to consumers’ total media time, especially on mobile devices. Fully 91.3% of web users polled had accessed social media in the prior month, spending an average 3:40 per day.

Social networking was the one exception, estimated at 47 minutes, as the pandemic likely increased the time spent keeping in touch with friends and family via social platforms. Also, YouTube viewers likely contributed to that higher level of engagement, as GlobalWebIndex includes the video platform in its social media category.

But social media time exceeded them all. Online video viewing hasn’t yet achieved the reach of live TV in UAE. While 83.3% of those polled had streamed video in the previous month, 88.8% had watched live TV. Similarly, the average time spent each day with digital video content (1:40) was marginally less than time spent with broadcast TV (1:42).

Are Hispanics heavy users of social media? Social media has natural appeal for people with far-flung relatives and friends, often including some living abroad. And the youthful skew of the Hispanic population yields a receptive audience for platforms like Snapchat and TikTok. Hispanics overindex for social user penetration, but just slightly.

Time spent with broadcast radio was 1:11 daily, on average—a lower level of engagement than all other activities, except online and print press. The share of US internet users engaging with social media rose by 4.5 percentage points year over year (YoY).

As in 2019, the combined time spent on PCs, smartphones, and tablets exceeded 10 hours per day. Mobile claimed the larger share, at 5 hours, 30 minutes (5:30), while PCs and tablets clocked an average 4:38 each day.

Time spent with mobile devices averaged 3 hours, 37 minutes (3:37) per day, 1 minute more than in 2019. Last year, 72.7% of respondents owned a desktop or laptop, according to GlobalWebIndex. By H1 2020, however, it seems that PC ownership may have already peaked; just 54.2% of internet users owned a PC.

These time spent forecasts showed the biggest positive shifts compared with our pre-pandemic estimates:. Time Spent with Smartphones. Smartphone time spent among adults was in line to tick up to 2:40 per day, but instead it will leap to 3:06. That’s almost 26 unexpected additional minutes per day staring at our phones. Time Spent with Subscription OTT Video Services.

Figures for time spent also highlight the growing popularity of digital video and audio. Internet users devoted an estimated 1:40 per day to online TV and video, and an additional 1:32 daily to music streaming. Social media also registered an uptick, as the share of internet users visiting social platforms at least once in the prior month rose from 88.7% to 90.9% YoY.

In Portugal, 83.0% of internet users polled had used social media in the prior month and spent 2:23 per day on social. Only PCs/tablets and smartphones claimed more time on a typical day. (GlobalWebIndex includes YouTube in its social media category, however, so any respondents who use YouTube count as social network users.).

The average time spent daily with tablets and PCs reached 3 hours, 54 minutes (3:54)—while time spent daily with mobile increased to 2:34. The reach of subscription video offerings now rivals that of live TV. Just under 90% of respondents polled in H1 2020 had watched traditional TV in the preceding month, though penetration of live broadcast TV was a good deal lower, at 76.8%.

The time spent with online press (1:08 daily, on average) was substantially higher than the 43 minutes devoted to print press, though both had risen YoY. Respondents ages 35 to 44 were the leading consumers of all traditional media.

More than 87% of UK internet users polled in H1 2020 had watched live TV in the prior month, and the average daily time spent with broadcast TV was relatively high at 2:37. Like last year, more than two-thirds of respondents had viewed TV shows they recorded at the time of broadcast.

It should be noted that GlobalWebIndex includes the video platform YouTube in its social media category, which tends to increase the figures for both engagement and time spent. Music streaming, gaming, and digital video took up roughly equal amounts of internet users’ time on a typical day in H1 2020, at 54 minutes, 56 minutes, and 1:00, respectively.

The average time spent with broadcast radio was 1 hour, 7 minutes (1:07) per day—less than in 2019—but average time spent with broadcast TV had risen above 2 hours daily. Sweden’s online population hasn’t turned its back on print media, either; in fact, this is one of the only countries where GlobalWebIndex reported greater engagement with print media in 2020 than in 2019.

Time spent with broadcast TV barely changed since last year, estimated at 2:25 daily. The digital video audience is almost as extensive. About 85% of survey respondents streamed video content of some kind in the prior month; average viewing time was 1:00 per day.

Time spent streaming music averaged 1:04 per day, while video streaming occupied an average 57 minutes per day. Both times were unchanged since last year.

In H1 2020, 85.4% of those polled said they had logged in to social media sites or apps in the prior month—greater than the share who watched live TV. Again, younger respondents recorded the highest involvement with social networks, at 93.2%.

And video streaming occupied just 1:09 per day, on average—about half the time spent each day with broadcast TV. Meanwhile, 69.4% of respondents had listened to digital audio—including music, podcasts, and dramas—in the month prior to polling. That said, age-related differences remain much more marked among digital audio consumers.

Time spent with print formats was less than time spent with online press, at 26 minutes and 38 minutes, respectively. To date, traditional TV has maintained robust audiences. In H1 2020, 89.7% of respondents had watched live TV in the prior month. Broadcasters’ time-shifting options are popular, too.

The average time spent per day with print media was 1 minute higher than in 2019, at 28 minutes, but online press claimed 39 minutes per day. Broadcast radio also maintained an enviable reach, at 83.2% of internet users, while time spent with radio averaged 1:49 per day.