US Media Consumption (2021–2025)
There’s no denying the media has a huge influence on our lives. As an ecommerce business owner, it’s crucial to understand how consumers are engaging with it, beginning with media consumption and how it’s evolving over the years.
More importantly, knowing your target audience’s media consumption habits—digital or traditional—will help you better understand where you should focus your marketing efforts.
Key media consumption statistics
- Daily time spent on digital media by US adults is projected to reach seven hours and 58 minutes daily in 2025, a 12-minute increase from 2024.
- Time spent on digital video will hit four hours per day in 2025, surpassing traditional TV by over an hour daily.
- Traditional TV consumption is expected to decline to two hours and 48 minutes daily in 2025, down from three hours and 16 minutes in 2021.
- The gap between daily digital video and traditional TV consumption began in 2022 and is projected to exceed one hour by 2025.
Media consumption habits (2021–2025): table
|
Year |
Time spent per day with digital media (hours:minutes) |
Time spent per day with traditional media (hours:minutes) |
|
2021 |
7:01 |
5:00 |
|
2022 |
7:19 |
4:53 |
|
2023 |
7:34 |
4:37 |
|
2024 |
7:46 |
4:28 |
|
2025 |
7:58 |
4:18 |
Media consumption: time spent on digital media
According to the latest statistics, US consumers will spend seven hours and 58 minutes on digital media in 2025, edging closer toward the eight-hour mark. This marks a 12-minute rise from the previous year, and aligns with rising digital consumption trends.
The data shows US consumers have been spending increasing amounts of time on digital media over the years. In 2021, the average time was seven hours and one minute daily. This rose by 4.3% in 2022 to seven hours and 19 minutes and increased another 3.4% in 2023 to seven hours and 34 minutes. Daily time spent on digital media is expected to hit seven hours and 46 minutes in 2024, before rising further in 2025.
Digital media consumption: time spent on digital video
A separate analysis also reveals that US adults are dedicating an increasing share of their digital media consumption to video. In 2021, time spent on digital video averaged three hours daily. This rose by 11.1% to three hours and 20 minutes in 2022 and grew another 9% to three hours and 38 minutes in 2023.
In 2024, time spent on digital video is forecast at three hours and 50 minutes, a 5.5% increase. By 2025, it will reach four hours, marking a 4.3% annual rise.
According to experts, streaming platforms and social videos are driving this shift, capturing consumer attention at the expense of traditional media. Notably, digital video consumption surpassed traditional TV viewing in 2022 and is expected to widen the gap to over an hour per day by 2025.
Media consumption: time spent on traditional media
The increasing time spent on digital platforms has reduced engagement with traditional media. In 2021, US consumers spent five hours daily on traditional media. By 2022, this fell to four hours and 53 minutes—a seven-minute drop. The downward trend continued in 2023, with time spent declining to four hours and 37 minutes.
Forecasts indicate this figure will fall further to four hours and 28 minutes in 2024 and four hours and 18 minutes in 2025. While the consumption of traditional media is declining, the pace of decrease has slowed compared to earlier projections, suggesting traditional formats still hold some sway among US audiences.
Traditional media consumption: time spent on traditional TV
Meanwhile, time spent watching traditional TV has steadily declined, reflecting shifting media consumption habits. In 2021, US adults spent three hours and 16 minutes daily on traditional TV. This fell by 3.1% in 2022 to three hours and ten minutes and decreased further to three hours and two minutes in 2023.
In 2024, the average time spent on traditional TV is projected at two hours and 55 minutes, which is anticipated to drop to two hours and 48 minutes in 2025—a 4% annual decline.