In 2019, we'll spend 800 hours on our mobile internet devices

The fifth edition of the Media Consumption Forecasts once again predicts how the amount of time spent consuming media and its allocation to the various channels will develop and change between 2019 and 2021. In all likelihood, people in the 57 countries surveyed will spend a total of 3.8 trillion hours on the mobile internet this year, with an increase to 4.5 trillion hours predicted for 2021.

Since the first edition was published in 2015, the average amount of time people around the world spend on the mobile internet has increased from 80 to 130 minutes a day. This is a result of the availability of more affordable smartphones, faster connections, better screens and app innovations. Growth is gradually stagnating, although people in developed countries who want a mobile device now have one and ownership is becoming increasingly common in developing countries. As a result, annual growth in mobile internet device usage time is forecast to average 8% between 2018 and 2021. Mobile internet usage is expected to account for 31% of global media consumption in 2021, an increase of 27% compared to this year.

In 2019, an average of around 167 minutes per day was spent watching television. This represents a decline since 2014, when an average of 171 minutes were spent per day, which will fall even further to 165 minutes by 2021. According to forecasts, however, it will remain the most popular medium in the world and will account for around a third of total media consumption in 2021, with a slight decline of 2% compared to the previous year (35% TV share in 2019).

Strong mobile internet usage is also responsible for people spending less time with most other competing media. Between 2014 and 2019, the time spent reading newspapers fell from an average of 17 to 11 minutes per day, while the average time spent reading magazines fell from 8 to 4 minutes. Internet use on the PC has also fallen from an average of 47 to 40 minutes per day. Radio and cinema use, on the other hand, has remained unchanged, with radio listening even increasing from 53 to 55 minutes per day. The increase in time spent at the cinema from 1.8 to 3 minutes per day on average is due to a boom in cinema visits in China.

The mobile internet has ensured that the time people spend consuming media is increasing. Consumers will spend an average of 479 minutes per day consuming media this year, compared to 420 minutes in 2013. By 2021, the average consumer is expected to spend 495 minutes a day on the internet. 

"Mobile internet technology has led to an increase in the amount of time people spend with media, and at the same time it has changed the term Media expanded," says Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting at Zenith. "Media in terms of media usage now also means comparing prices, sharing jokes with friends and booking your next vacation. This opens up completely new opportunities for brands to engage with consumers".

"To take advantage of this plethora of media, brands need to communicate with consumers in environments that best reflect their values. They also need to be mindful of the times when consumers are ready to buy," said Matt James, Global Brand President at Zenith. "This requires investment in Talent & Technologyto decipher the benefits of the data and create personal brand experiences".