Older children are watching half as much live television as adults per day, says new research from UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom, who claim they would rather watch online. Studies claim that children aged between 11 and 15 watch 1 hour and 32 minutes of live TV every day, with adults clocking up two hours and 58 minutes.
The study also suggested that older children were listening to 20% of the radio consumed by adults. The figures are the result of media diaries, with 186 6-11 year olds and 173 11-15 year old being asked to take part. Almost all adults were found to watch some form of live TV every week, with 90% of 6-11 year olds and 78% of 11-15 year olds also viewing it. The research showed that older children were spending six times longer watching video clips than adults and that they also spent twice as long as adults talking on social networking sites like Facebook. According to the study, older children were watching 33 minutes of video content online per day, with adults only viewing for five minutes. It was also found that children aged between 6-15 were spending 20% of their media time playing games. Adults were only taking part in gaming for 5% of their media time.
Do you think the younger generations are turning their backs on live television? Or are YouTube clips something they will come to grow out of? Perhaps you think the line between ‘live’ TV and online viewing is being blurred anyway? Let us know below.