By Jay Bemis | Advertising Systems Inc.
Americans now spend almost two-thirds (63.7%) of their total time spent on media specifically on digital media, which continues to take a bigger share of time that’s spent on traditional media, according to a report released this week by the experts at eMarketer.
Total time spent on media, with digital media and traditional media combined. will be 12 hours, 37 minutes per day in 2024, eMarketer predicts, up from 12 hours, 31 minutes per day in 2023.
That total time spent on media among U.S. adults 21-plus is expected climb to 12 hours, 46 minutes per day by 2026, according to eMarketer’s longer-range projections.
Digital media is defined in the report as “time spent with digital internet activities,” which would include desktops and laptops (think work and home), as well as “nonvoice mobile,” connected TV and other internet-connected devices.
Traditional media, meanwhile, consists of print (including catalogs and direct mail), radio, traditional TV and other media forms. Time spent on traditional media will be 36.3% this year, which will fall to 35.1% in 2025 when time spent on digital media climbs to 64.9%, eMarketer says.
The eMarketer report, “US Time Spent With Media H2 2024 Update,” suggests that brands may want to strive for targeted, data-driven marketing campaigns that reach consumers where they spend most of their time, which, clearly from this report, would be digital media.
Other Findings From the ‘Time-Spent’ Forecast
Other findings from this week ’s report include:
- Stay aware of mobile’s dominance.
Do you scratch your head and wonder on Sundays when your weekly screen-time report shows that you spent more than 4 hours per day on your mobile device? Well, you’re not alone.
Time spent on mobile devices is projected to hit a benchmark of 4 hours per day among all Americans in 2024, eMarketer says, “making it the most popular media access point.”
- Then there’s that rising star, connected TV.
“Time spent with CTV is expected to grow by 8.3% this year, reaching 2 hours and 15 minutes per day,” eMarketer projects. Though traditional TV (think dish or cable) still leads the way at 2 hours and 55 minutes per day, connected TV — as we’ve reported here recently— is an advertising choice that continues to grow in popularity.
- They can’t stop watching those videos.
“US adults will spend an average of 6 hours and 45 minutes per day watching video” this year, eMarketer says, with over half of that time dedicated to digital video channels and formats.
For brands, that means that in addition to focusing on digital media, they must continue to remember the power that video marketing in general can bring to their ad campaigns overall.