How do American consumers entertain and inform themselves in 2025? Attest’s 6th annual Media Consumption Report examines how habits across television, audio, news, and social media continue to evolve. 

From the Millennials’ social media detox to the over 50s podcast boom, these trends provide a detailed breakdown of how different demographics spend their time. The data also shows what the outlook is for various media formats, as well as for the biggest media brands.  

Survey sample The data in this report comes from a nationally representative survey of 2,000 US consumers aged 18-67. The media consumption tracker survey is conducted annually on the Attest platform during March and April.

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TV trends

Trend 1: TV viewing times continue descent

The downward trend in TV viewing continues: the percentage of consumers watching three or more hours of TV of any type per day stands at 56% in 2025, down from 61% last year, and 63% the year before. The most committed TV watchers are those aged 50-67, 66% of whom watch at least three hours a day – that’s compared to 52% of 18-30s and 50% of 31-49-year-olds. 

Live TV has borne the brunt of the slowdown, with 28% of consumers saying they generally don’t watch any on an average day (that’s up from 24% last year and 20% in 2023). This trend is driven by young consumers: a hefty 41% of under 30s typically don’t watch live TV (versus 27% of 31-49s and 20% of over 50s). Under 30s who do watch live TV are most likely to say they watch it for between 30 minutes to one hour per day. Meanwhile, their older counterparts typically watch for 1-2 hours. 

Viewing times for streaming services have also decreased, with a -4 point decline in people watching for three or more hours, and a corresponding increase in 1-2 hour viewing sessions. A third of consumers now stream TV for 1-2 hours per day. Under 30s watch the most, with one quarter typically viewing streamed TV for 1-2 hours and another quarter chalking up 3-4 hours per day. Only 8% of younger consumers typically don’t watch streaming services, but that increases to 27% for over 50s.   

Trend 2: Growth for Amazon Prime and Disney+

After suffering a -9 point decline in regular viewers last year, Netflix has only managed to regain a couple of percentage points. Today, 64% of consumers say they watch Netflix at least once a week. Amazon Prime and Disney+ have enjoyed the most growth, both increasing weekly viewers by +4 points. Sitting at 49%, Prime now enjoys its highest percentage of weekly viewers since we’ve been measuring, while Disney is yet to surpass its 2023 peak of 38% (currently at 35%). 

Other TV streamers remain more or less static, besides Max, which has recorded a -4 point loss to 25%. This compounds the previous year’s loss, when viewership fell from 33% to 29%.  Apple TV, meanwhile, continues to struggle to secure any meaningful US market share, watched weekly by just 12%.

Looking at the viewing profile of different streamers, 18-30-year-olds are the top viewers of Netflix (77%), Hulu (57%) and Disney+ (46%). Consumers aged 31-49 dominate Prime (55.5%), Paramount (31%), YouTube TV (19%) and Apple TV (13.5%). Meanwhile, Peacock, Apple TV and Sling have a fairly even age distribution. 

When it comes to what Americans are watching, crime dramas and procedurals are highly favored, with shows like “Reacher”, “NCIS”, and “Chicago Fire/PD” frequently cited.

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Audio trends

Trend 3: Music streaming bounceback boosts Spotify

The percentage of Americans streaming music daily took an -8 point plunge last year, but it has bounced back by +6 points in 2025. A total of 42% of consumers listen to streamed music every day, while a further 21% listen multiple times a week. Meanwhile, the number of consumers who never stream music has declined from 19% to 15%.

Consumers aged 18-30 are the most dedicated music streamers, with 61% listening daily (compared with 46% of 31-49s and only 20% of over 50s). Nearly 29% of 50-67-year-olds say they don’t stream music at all – that’s versus just 5% of under 30s. 

Spotify and YouTube Music have been neck and neck in the race to become the nation’s top music streamer, but this year puts a bit of distance between them. Just over 39% of consumers regularly listen to Spotify, while 31% tune into YouTube Music (this represents a +3 point increase for Spotify and a -7 point fall for YouTube). 

Spotify is the clear favorite of young consumers, used by 56.5% of under 30s (versus 43% of 31-49s and 20.5% of over 50s). Meanwhile, consumers aged 31-49 represent the key demographic for YouTube Music, with 38% of this age group using the platform, versus 30% of 18-30s and 23% of over 50s. 

Amazon Music continues the downward trajectory it’s been on since 2023, falling a further -4 points to 19%, putting it alongside Apple Music. SoundCloud has also declined since its peak of two years ago, with only 6% of consumers regularly using it. 

Trend 4: Radio in steady decline

The overall trend seen in radio listenership is one of slow and steady decline. The number of daily listeners now sits at 31%, having fallen from 37% in 2023, while the percentage of those who listen a few times a week has also been gradually trailing off (currently 23%).

The number of Americans who say they never listen to the radio has simultaneously crept up from 11% in 2023 to 16% today. With that said, a substantial 54% still tune in at least three times per week, meaning it remains a valuable advertising medium. 

This is especially true for reaching middle aged and older audiences: 37% of 39-49-year-olds listen to the radio daily, as do 36% of over 50s (but only 15% of under 30s listen with such regularity). Around a quarter of each age group listen to radio “a few times a week”. 

Digging further into the profile of regular radio listeners, we see that consumers from higher income households are more likely to listen than lower earners: 60% of those with a household income in excess of $100k listen multiple times per week/daily, compared with 47.5% of those earning less than $50k. 

Trend 5: Over 50s increase podcast consumption

Older Americans are listening to podcasts more frequently in 2025: 32% of over 50s stream podcasts at least once a week, following a +5% increase. However, with usage among 31-49-year-olds static, and weekly use among 18-30s having declined by -7 points to 39%, overall podcast listening figures fail to chalk up growth. Nearly 15% of consumers listen to podcasts daily, while a further 25% listen at least once a week.

Americans aged 31-49 are the biggest podcast consumers, with 45% listening weekly, but when it comes to daily listening, they’re on a level pegging with their younger counterparts (both around 16%). Men show a preference for podcasts, with 45% listening to them weekly, versus 35% of women. 

Comedy podcasts are the most popular, especially among younger listeners, while older consumers frequently seek out news and political content. True crime is the third most-popular subject matter for podcasts, again driven by younger listeners. 

Similarly to podcasts, audiobooks are consumed most frequently by 31-49s: 27% listen to them weekly (an increase of +4.5 points on last year). Weekly usage among under 30s sits at 18%, while only 8% of over 50s listen to an audiobook at least once a week. Failure to engage this age group appears to be holding back growth of the medium. Overall, just 18% of the population listen to audiobooks weekly – no change on last year.  

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Social media trends

Trend 6: Over 30s continue social media detox

The percentage of consumers spending three plus hours on social media per day has decreased by -6.5 points to 30%. The decline comes primarily from Americans aged 31-49, who have cut back on 3-hour-plus sessions for a second year running (down by -10.5 points to 27%). This age group has significantly slashed long scrolling sessions since 2023, when 45% spent 3+ hours on social per day. Now, they’re most likely to say they spend 1-2 hours online per day.

Consumers under 30s have also reduced the amount of time they spend online, recording a -7 point decrease in sessions over three hours since last year. However, a sizable 46% still spend long durations on social platforms each day. Looking at just how much time 18-30s spend scrolling, we see 21% spend 3-4 hours, 16% spend 5-6 hours and an addicted 9% spend more than 6 hours. 

Older Americans (age 50-67) typically spend up to an hour on social media each day, and only 21% spend more than three hours. When it comes to the biggest doomscrollers, women are three times more likely than men to spend 6+ hours a day on social platforms (10% versus 3%). Interestingly, consumers with a lower household income are also notably more likely to indulge in long social sessions than higher earners (33% versus 22% spend in excess of three hours a day).

Trend 7: TikTok leads social media platform growth

All the social media platforms in our survey have failed to chalk up growth in daily users over the last year – with TikTok being the singular exception. TikTok has increased daily users by +5 points to 30%. Meanwhile X and Facebook have both suffered small losses: daily usage of X has fallen by -4 points to 16% and by -3 points to 52% for Facebook. 

This move puts Facebook on a par with YouTube for daily users. But when we combine daily users with people who visit at least three times a week, we see that YouTube is striding ahead as the nation’s most popular platform (71% versus Facebook’s 65%). 

Looking at movements in the use of social platforms by different demographics, we see 18-30-year-olds are responsible for TikTok’s growth, with a +12 increase in daily users among this age group (to 53%). This makes TikTok as popular as Instagram for the under 30s. BeReal, on the other hand, has fallen off the radar with only 2% of under 30s using it daily, and 82% never using it. 

Facebook and X’s losses come from the 31-49 age group: their daily usage of Facebook is down by -6 points to 59%, and by -7 points to 16% for X. Overall, X is the platform most likely to have been completely abandoned, with the percentage of Americans who never use it rising by +4 points to 54%, compounding last year’s +7 point increase in non-users. 

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Print and digital content trends

Trend 8. Under 30s ditching digital news and magazine content

Maybe it’s because they’re getting their news on social media, but young Americans are accessing digital content less regularly: 41.5% of 18-30s now view digital news at least once a week (a decline of -7.5 points on last year), while 20.5% read digital magazine content weekly (down -10.5%).

The over 50s are the biggest consumers of digital news, with 66% accessing it weekly following a +6 point increase. This age group is also more likely to be viewing digital magazine content than previously (weekly viewing is up +4 points to 20%), but it’s 31-49-year-olds who read the most: 27% access it at least once a week.

High income households are more likely to read digital content regularly – ability to pay for subscriptions no doubt plays a role. We see that 68% of those with a household income in excess of $100k access digital news weekly (versus 50% with a household income below $50k), while 33% access digital magazine content every week (versus 18.5%).

There’s also a gender split when it comes to digital content: men are more likely to access both news (60% versus 54%), and magazine content (27% versus 20%) on a weekly basis. 

Trend 9.  Daily newspapers go the way of the dodo

The tradition of the daily newspaper is all but dead. The percentage of Americans reading a printed newspaper daily has fallen to 5% — the lowest level since we’ve been measuring. The decline has been driven by over 50s reducing their newspaper consumption. Only 3% of 50-67-year-olds religiously read a newspaper (down from 8% last year). In 2025, its consumers aged 31-49 who are most likely to read a daily paper: 8%, in comparison to 2% of under 30s. 

The number of Americans reading a printed newspaper at least once a week stands at 20% (down -4 points), with men more likely to engage with physical newspapers than female consumers (23% versus 17% read papers weekly). Higher earners over-index for reading newspapers regularly: 27% versus 18% of lower earners. Higher earners are also more likely to read print magazines on a weekly basis: 33% versus 18.5%.

Overall, 19% of the population read printed magazines every week but the percentage of consumers who say they never read magazines is creeping up: now at 40% following a +4 increase. This trend is even worse for printed newspapers, with 48% of the population never picking one up (an increase of +6 points on last year).

Trend 10. Under 30s thin out content subscriptions

Despite the pressure of the cost of living in 2025, content subscriptions are holding up reasonably well: 34% of Americans are paying to subscribe to a digital or print publication, which is only -2 points down on last year. 

However, if we look at subscription rates among different age groups, one demographic is making notable cut backs. Consumers aged 18-30 — the biggest spenders in content subscriptions — are -11.5 points less likely to be paying for a subscription (40.5% of this age group has one). In particular, the percentage of under 30s who have both a digital and a print subscription has declined by -6 points showing they’re having to thin out and prioritize subs as disposable income is squeezed. 

On the other hand, consumers aged 31-49 are moderately more likely to have a content subscription this year: 36.5% have at least one (up by +2.5 points). The over 50s are the least likely to be paying for content, but 26% have at least one subscription. Household income plays a big role in likelihood to pay for content: 47% of higher earners have a content subscription versus 27% of lower earners. 

Overall, digital content subscriptions dominate: 18% of consumers say they subscribe to digital content, versus 4.5% who have a subscription to a print publication (although a further 11% have subscriptions to both types of publications).