Social media use while watching TV in the UK in 2019/2020, by age group

The results of a survey carried out in the United Kingdom (UK) between 2019 and 2020 revealed that younger generations are more likely to use social media while watching TV. Individuals aged from 18 to 24 years old made up over a third of respondents saying they always used social media sites while watching TV, whereas five percent stated they never did.

TV usage in the UK

The number of TV households increased in the UK between 2004 and 2019, reaching nearly 27 million households in the latter year. Nevertheless, the average time spent per individual watching broadcast TV has been declining continuously since 2010, recording a decrease of almost an hour by 2019. In general, the time spent watching broadcast TV is higher among older individuals. Adults aged 75 and above spent the most time watching broadcast TV daily.

Online TV

The revenue generated from online TV in the UK increased exponentially between 2006 and 2019. As of 2019, online TV revenue exceeded three billion British pounds. In the first half of 2018, BBC iPlayer was the leading online television service in the UK, with approximately one third of UK adults using this service. This was followed by Netflix and YouTube, with respective shares of 28 percent and 17 percent.