Swedish teenagers and twenty-somethings are spending nearly an hour every day watching streaming video content on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, according to a new report published by Mediavision this week.
The report concludes that 15- to 24-year-olds in Sweden — known collectively as “Generation Z” — spend an average of 55 minutes per day on social video platforms, accounting for nearly half of all daily video consumption.
Mediavision concluded that short-form video content, coupled with personalized algorithms that deliver users the type of clips they might want to watch, account for the attraction of social video platforms among younger consumers in the country.
“Growth in social video has not gone unnoticed. It has become increasingly common and is now a natural part of media consumption, especially in younger audiences,” Fredrik Liljeqvist, a consultant and analyst at Mediavision, said on Thursday.
The trend is catching on with some other demographics in Sweden, too: Mediavision says Swedes between the ages of 25 and 44 years old spend a half-hour watching social video content daily, spread across different platforms.
“Since video consumption has grown so much, and across such large groups, it will impact all media companies moving forward,” Liljeqvist concluded.
The trend means Sweden’s public service broadcasters and streaming companies are competing with social video platforms for attention, and at a higher rate than ever before. Mediavision says business won’t be the only one taking note of the trend: Regulators will, too, as conversations around social media and the safety of the country’s youth are expected to accelrate in the coming years.
“Discussions about regulating young people’s use of social media have increased over the past year, even here in Sweden. This could, of course, impact both media consumption and industry players,” Liljeqvist said. “Regardless of the outcome, we can already state that social video holds a central place in many Swedes’ media consumption.”
