YouTube is the most popular free video service across all generations

With 82% of Gen Z adults, 78% of Millenials, 70% of Gen X and 52% of Baby Boomers using the platform, YouTube is the most widely used free video service among US internet users of all generations.

Among YouTube’s competition is TikTok and Facebook, with the former used by 67% of Gen Z adults and the latter used the second most consistently across all generations.

Digital video trumps traditional TV

According to data from media market research group Kagan, last year marked the first time that adults spent more time watching digital video than traditional linear TV, ousting the classic format by 23 minutes.

This gap is forecast to widen in coming years, predicted to increase to more than an hour by 2025.

Across 2023, US adults will spend 3 hours and 23 minutes per day watching digital video, with YouTube claiming 34 of those daily minutes.

Nearly 55% of time spent watching digital video is through connected TV (CTV). Users will also spend more time watching YouTube from CTVs than on mobile devices this year.

Leveraging digital video

With similar trends being seen across Europe and the UK, marketers should be on high alert when it comes to monitoring digital video’s popularity.

Free video streaming’s growth opens the door for advertisers to expose their brands to an increasingly large audience and as indicated by the data, one that encompasses a varied range of ages.

Considering that growth is predicted to continue in the future, finding space for YouTube, TikTok and Facebook video advertising should certainly be considered when putting together marketing budgets for the years ahead.