The time spent consuming online content has grown tremendously over the years, with people now spending most of their awake time glued to screens. And while various content types have seen increased engagement across all age groups, online videos stand out in a category of their own, consuming most people’s free time.
According to data presented by Techgaged.com, internet users now spend a shocking 11 hours and 34 minutes weekly watching online videos, the equivalent of 25 full days each year.
Short videos lead weekly screen time with over 6.5 hours watched
The world has become more connected than ever, with online content now easily accessible to nearly everyone. This digital shift has been driven by the rise of social media, streaming platforms, remote work, faster internet, and AI-powered content recommendations. The result? In just five years, daily internet usage has skyrocketed, with people now spending an average of six hours and 38 minutes online each day, nearly as much time as they do asleep. In 10 countries, this figure is much higher, with South Africans and Brazilians leading the group and spending more than nine hours online daily.
Breaking down this usage time by categories gave an interesting insight into which type of online content people consume the most. According to a DataReportal survey, online videos are by far the most consumed type of digital content, far surpassing TV, social media, and even video games. In the first quarter of the year, people spent an average of 11 hours and 34 minutes per week watching all kinds of online videos, which adds up to 25 full days per year.
Most of the time spent on online videos goes to short clips, like TikToks and YouTube Shorts, which account for six hours and 37 minutes per week. That means we spend more than two weeks per year watching short videos alone. Vlogs were far below this figure, with the average weekly watch time of less than five hours.
Comparing online videos with other content types also shows just how dominant this format has become. Each week, people spend about an hour and a half more on online videos than on TV and nearly three and a half hours more than on social media or video games.
Short videos beat even mobile games, with a 52% higher weekly watch time
The unmatched dominance of online videos and their number one subcategory, short videos, becomes even more striking when compared to mobile games, the fastest-growing and top-grossing segment of the gaming industry.
With an average weekly usage time of six hours and 37 minutes, short videos beat mobile games by a massive 52%. That means internet users spend two hours and 20 minutes more watching short videos than playing mobile games each week, totaling just over five full days per year.
Shockingly, PC and console games, as well as podcasts, were at the bottom of this list, with people spending only between two to two and a half hours per week on this type of content.
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