What sources of entertainment do younger consumers spend their free time on?

Young consumers are more engaged with entertainment of all kinds. In fact, people under 35 have an average of 8 entertainment platforms they say are “must have” sources, while among those 35 and over, it is much lower: they only have 4.9 sources they say they cannot do without, according to Hub’s “Battle Royale” study.

The study also revealed that the younger demo is less dependent on video: gaming and social media comprise almost half the total entertainment sources used by those under 35. These consumers use an average of 15.5 entertainment sources, and of these, 6 are either gaming or social media (vs. 6.6 video sources.)

By comparison, those 35+ are much more video focused: 5.3 video sources versus 2.1 social media platforms and 1 gaming source. Furthermore, 85% of young consumers say social media platforms are a must have – higher than any other category. Those 35+ are most likely to say major SVOD platforms (70%) or reading (70%) are a “must have” source of entertainment.

Hub noted that social media platforms are making inroads on occasions normally reserved for premium video entertainment. Not surprisingly, social media is the top choice among men and women of all ages when they have 10-15 minutes to spend on entertainment.

However, when Hub looked at first-choice for entertainment when there is two hours available, the results were more differentiated: women of all ages are more likely to use streaming platforms when they have that much time, but men under 25 are just as likely to spend two hours on social media or gaming as they are on streaming platforms. And while SVOD services are the top choice among men 25 to 34, social media and gaming are very close behind.

“The competition between streaming providers has monopolized the TV industry spotlight in recent years. But among young people, things like gaming and social media are a bigger competitive threat. There are young people who are as likely to spend two hours on TikTok as they are watching a TV show. These behaviors may not change with age, and it is important for media companies to anticipate where their audiences will be in the future,”  commented Jon Giegengack, Principal at Hub Entertainment Research and one of the authors of the study.

The data cited here come from Hub Entertainment Research’s “Battle Royale – Wave 2” study, conducted among 3.003 consumers in the United States, aged 18-74, who are household decision-makers about entertainment. The data was collected in October 2022.