More time spent at home during the pandemic means more time being spent on social media. But not all social platforms are benefitting in the same way. In our latest forecast on time spent with media in the US, we expect adult social network users to log an average of 1 hour, 22 minutes (1:22) per day in 2020, up nearly 7 minutes over last year.

Which digital time spent forecasts increased the most? Adults in the US will spend an average of 64 more minutes with media per day in 2020 than we thought they would. Within this, users will spend almost 26 additional minutes per day on their smartphones compared with our earlier expectations. Our Forecasts in 2021.

eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Karin von Abrams discusses our Global Media Intelligence Report 2020, which compiles data and insights about internet users’ digital and traditional media usage across 42 countries. This annual project is a partnership between eMarketer and Starcom, and based on research from GlobalWebIndex. Also joining the discussion are Jason Mander, chief research officer at GlobalWebIndex, and Kelly Kokonas, executive vice president of global data strategy, technology and analytics, at Starcom.

The coronavirus pandemic is changing how people interact, and mobile devices have served as a social and entertainment lifeline as Americans stay at home and practice social distancing measures. This report looks at how US adults are using those devices.

Social media sites gained the most in time spent, with an approximate jump of 70%. Other big gainers were sites for entertainment, government and news/information. Reversing a Trend, TV Time Increases in 2020. Even before COVID-19 caused a spike in TV time in Canada, TV continued to be a strong medium of choice.

Social Distancing Means a Slight Swell in Social Media Time. With tight restrictions on travel, exercise and physical gatherings, the only way for many people to connect with their fellow humans is via social media. As such, we expect to see a boost to the 2020 time spent number, though that will then plateau through 2022.

As social distancing continues, US social network users are spending more time than previously estimated with social platforms.

Linear TV’s resurgence won’t outlast 2020, and even digital media will experience a dip in time spent next year, as people return to a “new normal.”. But time spent won’t fall back to pre-pandemic levels. Media usage will remain above 2019 levels and higher than our previous forecast even past quarantines.

What will be the big winners this year in time spent? Time spent with social media, whose gains had stalled in recent years, is getting a boost. Smartphone time and digital video time are still rising, and with an extra-large bump in 2020. However, less commuting to work amid stay-at-home orders and the coming recession means an interruption to digital audio’s growth.

eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco joins global director of public relations Douglas Clark to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting eMarketer’s forecasts on time spent with social media, including revised numbers for Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

After years of steady increases, time spent on social media by US social network users fell last year. Those figures will flatten as the intensity of Facebook usage starts to moderate and activities such as digital video and video games draw more time and attention.

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The average time spent with social media each day climbed to 1:20, a gain of 4 minutes compared with H1 2019. Smartphone and tablet ownership rose in 2020, with penetration skewing highest among affluents. Desktop/laptop ownership in Austria dropped below 90% in 2019 but remained robust in H1 2020, at 89.5%—one of the highest percentages recorded worldwide by GlobalWebIndex.

The format triumphed in 2019, with social media sites boosting content consumption from users, and it’s likely to become a more popular format with most—if not all—platforms and screens.”—Glenn Perera, Director of Product Strategy for EMEA, Integral Ad Science.

Facebook users are spending less time on the social platform, and that is leading to a reduction in overall time spent with social networks in the US. Time spent on social networks declined by 1 minute last year, a stark difference from the cumulative 13-minute gain in 2016 and 2017.

When US consumers started spending more time at home during the pandemic, they also started using social media more, providing an unexpected boost to engagement on these platforms.