The pandemic has been able to make common what would previously have stood out as extreme amounts of screen time.

Amid all the handwringing about screen time—plus the demise of Toys "R" Us—one could easily imagine that kids have lost interest in toys. But they haven’t.

The pandemic has caused reduced advertiser spending overall, leading to lower growth of in-app ad spending despite significantly higher numbers of ad placements. While in-app purchases (IAPs) never stopped growing amid the pandemic, publisher revenues have recently been shifting from in-app advertising to purchases.

TikTok may be a powerful purchase driver for Gen Z. The research by 5WPR backs this up. Among US internet users ages 16 and older, 10.1% said they had purchased at least one product they’d seen on TikTok. Among those ages 16 to 21, TikTok’s primary audience, 28.2% said they had.

Online banking usage among older consumers, for example, still lags younger generations: In Q2 2020, 68% of Gen Z and millennial consumers said that they were using online banking at least weekly. That number shrank to 62% for Gen Xers and baby boomers, and only 48% for those ages 78 and above, per data from GWI. AI can also increase the level of personalization customers enjoy in digital channels.

US boomers aren’t ready for mobile wallets

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and vice president of research Jennifer Pearson discuss children's behavior online, the screen time stigma and YouTube child policy changes. Then, junior analyst Blake Droesch addresses questions about a TikTok sale, Facebook's stance on political ads and a new way to limit who can reply to your tweets.

On today's episode, we discuss how the coronavirus changed each generation, Twitter's ecommerce ambitions, what consumers want from brands one year into the pandemic, Virginia becoming the second state to enact a consumer privacy law, TikTok competitors from YouTube and Netflix, how to improve your art viewing experience, and more. Tune in to listen to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst Jeremy Goldman, analyst Blake Droesch, and director of forecasting at Insider Intelligence Oscar Orozco.

eMarketer junior forecasting analyst Zach Goldner and senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Oscar Orozco discuss how US media use will change in 2021: Are fewer Americans watching TV, which digital devices are being used more, and how much time is spent with TikTok and Disney+? They then talk about how much people are willing to pay for TV streaming, virtually co-viewing digital content, and whether video games have replaced music as the most important aspect of youth culture.

Boomers aren't entirely nondigital⁠—they were, after all, the pioneers of adopting home computers—but at this point in their lives, they're a bit more reluctant about adopting newer technologies. That's true even for tech with real-life utility, such as voice assistants and smart-home devices, which could help boomers age in place and deal with the physical challenges that accompany increasing age. Along with concerns about things like privacy, it’s partly a matter of the inertia about adopting new things that tends to set in as one gets older.

Many consumers’ shopping behaviors have moved online in recent months, and that trend is likely to continue through the holiday shopping season.

eMarketer analyst Ross Benes, senior analyst Audrey Schomer and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the full release of NBCUniversal's new video streaming service, Peacock, and where it slots in to a crowded market. Then eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and vice president of research Jennifer Pearson discuss some new and interesting findings about young people's use of screens.

As consumers now spend much of their days at home, some have taken to wearing comfortable attire full-time. One in five US adults said they purchased clothing that is considered loungewear or leisurewear since the pandemic began, according to a June 2020 survey from CivicScience.

Today’s kids are more digital than previous generations at the same age. But, while digital video is certainly an important part of kids’ media diet, we estimate that just over half of those ages 11 and younger (52.4%) will be digital video viewers this year. TV penetration is still much higher (close to nine in 10), although time spent is declining.

Pinterest surpassed Snapchat as the third-biggest social media platform in the US in 2019, and it will continue to stay ahead in the coming years, according to our latest social user estimates.

As for social media, besides household names WeChat and Weibo, more recently, we have seen the rise of beauty-focused Xiaohongshu and video-sharing platform Bilibili, which is popular among Gen Zers and known for its anime content, though it has been diversifying.