Gen Z’s media consumption skews heavily toward short bursts of content viewed on smartphones (particularly via Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube) as opposed to lean-back viewing on connected TVs. This youngest generation is heavily invested in audio platforms like Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube Music.

Move over, millennials: The new kids in town, Gen Z, have claimed the crown as most sought-after demographic for brands. With their deep digital nativity and social influence, this generation is making its mark on society and brand strategy.

YouTube videos are the most popular media among US children online, with 85% of those surveyed watching that content recently.

How much time do kids spend with screens?

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco discuss where Americans are spending their time with media amid the coronavirus. And will those media habits revert to their previous levels when the pandemic subsides? They then talk about how many people are comfortable with contact tracing, how long it will take for Americans to embrace certain activities again and new parental tools to monitor kids' online lives.

Sure, Facebook saw similar proportions of kids and adults watching video, but kids still edged it; while on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, the kids proportions dwarfed the adults’ shares. The survey asked about behavior in the past 12 months, so this was likely a trend that was already becoming well-established. Lockdown is likely to have only intensified it, though.

This report looks at how digital technology fits into the daily lives of US kids—digital natives who, compared with teens and young adults, aren’t really all that digital.

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Sara M. Watson, along with junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch, discuss the true power of the social media giants, how Gen Z viewers like to consume sports, Twitter leaning into audio, news use on social platforms, how the pandemic has reshaped children's screen time, why people get "red eye" in photos, and more.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Lucy Koch and vice president of research Jennifer Pearson discuss the media diets of kids and teens in quarantine. They then talk about how older individuals and women are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the video streaming platforms with the best kids content and more.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and vice president of research Jennifer Pearson discuss young people: why they don't always want to be reachable, how many think their parents are addicted to their devices, why they stay on social media despite resenting it and more.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco discuss how digital adoption has made it possible—or not—for people to work, study and entertain themselves from home during the COVID-19 outbreak. Who doesn't use the internet? Do people spend more time watching Netflix or YouTube? And which platforms get the most social media attention? They then talk about Spotify Kids, faster same-day delivery and Sling TV losing customers.

In many cases, survey data is based on parent estimates of their kids’ behaviors with media, which can be less than fulsome, especially as it relates to teenagers. A leading Canadian digital researcher, Media Technology Monitor (MTM), has a research arm focused on kids and teens called MTM Junior.

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.

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.

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.

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Yory Wurmser and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Eric Haggstrom discuss whether Uber, Lyft and Airbnb can make a comeback. They then talk about what kids are doing with their increased screen time, location data consent and how comfortable Americans are with normal, everyday activities.

A March 2019 survey by Comparitech found that 73.0% of parents said their kids had a smartphone by ages 11 to 13, and 31.0% said their kids had one between ages 6 and 10. Phones are the first sense of freedom a teen likely enjoys, so it’s no surprise that they rank the device as their favorite form of technology.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver discusses Roku’s new “Kids and Family” section—including the importance of grouping kids programming together and how people use parental control features. Vice president of content studio Paul Verna then joins to talk about how to predict cord-cutting, why people subscribe to over-the-top video streaming services and what happens when families choose TV packages together.