This report reviews our final 2020 numbers and new 2021 forecast for US time spent with media, highlighting pre- and post-pandemic estimates and expectations. Special attention is paid to TV, connected TV, OTT, digital audio, and social media.

Almost 84% of internet users said they’d visited a social media site or app in the preceding month. In this newly revised data category, GWI now also includes respondents who used at least one of 20 named messaging platforms. This year, 93.6% had done so in the month prior. As in previous years, time spent with social media in South Korea was notably low compared with other countries, at 1:12 per day.

Time spent with social media was also up marginally, to 3:34 per day on average. About 16% of internet users polled in South Africa had used a voice assistant or smart speaker in the week prior to find information. Almost as many had used a voice command to carry out an action, such as accessing music online. Usage was greatest among 16- to 24-year-olds, affluents, and respondents living in cities.

No surprise, then, that time spent with social media and messaging averaged 2:47 per day. Digital games still occupy more time for Egypt’s internet users than their counterparts in many other countries—and that time had climbed sharply YoY. Survey respondents estimated that in H1 2021, gaming consumed 1:46 each day, on average—28 minutes more than in 2020, and almost as much as online video (1:49).

The average time spent with social media and messaging was 3:22 per day. As in past years, these figures were among the highest GWI recorded globally. Moreover, most internet users were active on a large number of platforms. Over 55% of those polled used at least seven; of that group, nearly 17% said they used 11 or more social and messaging services.

Social networking helped to boost the total time spent with digital media. Social media and messaging activity reached new heights in Mexico this year; 99.4% of internet users polled in H1 2021 had used social media in the month prior and almost as many had used messaging services such as WhatsApp. Also this year, time spent with social networking achieved a new high of 3:28 daily, on average.

Canada’s internet users were also more likely to spend time on social media and messaging than to watch live TV in H1 2021. Fully 96.2% of those polled had visited at least one of 37 named social networks in the prior month—including 88.1% of the oldest cohort.

Time spent daily with social media and messaging averaged 1:50—about half an hour less than time devoted to broadcast TV. More than 8 in 10 respondents in Italy had listened to live radio programs.

Beyond social media, time spent on all other measured digital activities was also up year over year. For example, on a typical day, online press claimed 2:47—18 minutes more than in H1 2020, and almost five times the 35 minutes spent daily with print press.

Time spent with all digital devices rose in 2021. Fully 98.7% of internet users ages 16 to 64 polled in H1 2021 owned a smartphone—effectively identical to the rate in H1 2020. Time spent with smartphones and other mobile devices in H1 2021 reached a remarkable 5 hours, 15 minutes (5:15) per day, on average—a gain of 9 minutes year over year.

The average times spent daily with broadcast radio and live TV remained constant between H1 2020 and H1 2021, at 1:36 and 1:55, respectively. During the same period, time spent daily with print press rose by 4 minutes to reach 33 minutes. However, it was clearly overtaken by online press, which occupied an average of 43 minutes each day.

As early as H1 2019, online press had overtaken print in terms of time spent each day. This year, respondents devoted slightly more time to print press than in 2020, at 26 minutes daily. However, time spent with online publications remained unchanged at 54 minutes, more than doubling print’s time spent. Broadcast radio also occupied a bit more of internet users’ time this year.

Social media and messaging far surpassed any other activity in terms of reach and time spent in H1. A notable 97.7% of internet users had checked in to at least one of 37 named social platforms in the prior month, and 97.2% had used a messaging service. Social media and messaging occupied 2:28 on a typical day.

Broadcast TV, radio, and print have maintained substantial audiences, though time spent with digital alternatives is greater. The share of internet users ages 16 to 64 in Malaysia who watched live TV in the month prior to polling rose very minimally between 2020 and 2021, from 79.9% to 80.2%. It saw a very slight decrease in time spent per day, however, to 1 hour, 45 minutes (1:45).

But time spent with print press was just 42 minutes per day, well below the 57 minutes devoted to online publications. Nearly 94% of US internet users polled in 2021 had engaged with social media in the prior month, and 83.5% had used a messaging service.

Nonetheless, time spent with broadcast TV in H1 was more than half an hour greater than time spent with online TV and video, at 1 hour, 56 minutes (1:56) per day versus 1:22, respectively. However, broadcast TV no longer claimed more time than social networking, which averaged 1:57 each day. In fact, social media and messaging engaged more internet users than any other activity.

Time spent with those shows had risen, though, from 1:08 to 1:13 per day, on average. Social media and messaging are a near-universal habit. More than 98% of internet users polled in H1 2021 had visited at least one of 20 named messaging services in the prior month, for example.

The time spent with online press (1:03 daily, on average) remained substantially higher than the 37 minutes devoted to print press, though both had fallen since 2020. PC and smartphone penetration changed very little this year. But smart home devices, smart TVs, and wearables saw a bump in adoption.

As in prior years, time spent with PCs and tablets exceeded time spent with mobile devices in most European markets and the US. Conversely, mobile activities dominated daily media time across much of Asia-Pacific, and in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and UAE.

Time spent with digital audio and video both posted annual increases. For example, in H1 2021, internet users polled in Argentina spent an average of 1:14 daily with online TV and 1:45 with music streaming. Time spent each day with broadcast TV also rose, from 2:28 to 2:34. As in past years, social media claimed a far larger slice of time than any other specific media activity, at 3:24 per day.

That said, the bulk of time spent with press titles has shifted online. Digital publications occupied 1 hour, 34 minutes (1:34) per day on average in H1 2021, compared with 1:00 for print press formats. Broadcast TV, meanwhile, was still viewed more widely than most digital alternatives. In Q1 2021, 92.0% of internet users had watched live TV in the month prior to polling.