Vendor reportGWI, 2026

Global consumers spend about 13.5 hours a week on social media and short videos, more than on broadcast TV, streaming and radio combined

Channel validation

Average weekly hours global consumers estimate spending on different media types

Average weekly hours global consumers estimate spending on different media types
Media type	Average weekly time (hours)
Social media (e.g. posts, stories, ads)	7.1
Short videos (e.g. Reels, TikToks)	6.65
Streaming services (e.g. Netflix, Hulu)	5
Music streaming	4.97
Broadcast TV	4.92
Videos (e.g. how-tos, vlogs)	4.85
Mobile games	4.32
Online press/articles	2.97
PC/console games	2.62
Radio	2.53
Podcasts	1.92
Physical press (printed newspapers/mags)	1.63

Reader Note:: Figure reports global consumers' estimated average weekly time spent on media types. Social media is 7:06 per week and short videos are 6:39, which sums to 13:45. Broadcast TV is 4:55, streaming services 5:00, and radio 2:32, which sums to 12:27. The source describes these as estimated weekly hours and does not state the exact fieldwork window for this figure inside the report.
Evidence:: Self-reported behaviour
Vendor interest:: Moderate — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:: Mixed GWI online survey samples: GWI Core surveys over 1 million people annually aged 16-64 or 16+ across 54 markets; GWI USA surveys 80,000 Americans annually aged 16+; GWI Kids surveys 20,000 children aged 8-15 in 18 markets; plus a bespoke survey of 550 US advertising and marketing professionals in August-September 2025 and GWI Zeitgeist monthly surveys in 11 markets.

Good for

A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.

Not for

Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
This is an aggregated or average number that covers very different cases. Real results in a particular segment may differ.
This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
The source never says how this number was measured.

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of Google searches that showed an AI summary ended with a click on a link inside that summary (US, March 2025)

20% of Gen Z and 17% of Millennials discover new brands through influencer endorsements, vs 12% of Gen X and 5% of Boomers

Share of each generation who discover new brands via influencer endorsements
Generation	Share who discover brands through influencers (%)
Gen Z	20%
Millennials	17%
Gen X	12%
Baby Boomers	5%

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Global consumers spend about 13.5 hours a week on social media and short videos, more than on broadcast TV, streaming and radio combined

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