It is not remotely breaking news that the addictive method of marathon “binge watching” television has been on the rise alongside the growing popularity of streaming and VOD, and the influence of streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Now the proof is in the statistical pudding: devouring multiple TV episodes in one sitting has increasingly become the way young viewers experience television.
According to Deloitte’s annual “Digital Democracy Survey,” binge-watching TV is the most popular method of watching TV among young people – which should surprise absolutely no one. About 90% of Millennials (ages 20-33) and 87% of Gen Z (ages 14-19) have binge-watched video content, to an average of six episodes (about five hours of content) in a single sitting. On a weekly basis, almost 40% of the demographics binge-watch TV, compared with 29% overall.
Young viewers are also heavily multitasking while devouring their content. The survey found 99% of millennials and Gen Z engage in an average of four other activities while watching television, such as texting, surfing the Internet, using social networks and media, or reading emails. This may be due to the fact that half the time, they’re watching on something other than a television. Yet for the high tech options to feed people suggestions, word of mouth still remains strong.
Over half of Gen Z and millennials use social networks to learn about new TV shows, with friends’ recommendations edging out TV ads as the primary source of discovery. About 33% of both demographics get their news primarily from social media (versus 19% across all age groups) while 21% of younger consumers said TV is their favorite source of news (compared with 40% overall).
Basically, it’s a brave, new world, and habits and drastically changing. For those who imagine TV time involving a couch and a television, they may be out of touch with people consuming their content on the go (which ordering something off Amazon). How do you binge? Let us know in the comments section. [Variety]