Digital video is being embraced by viewers of an older set, with those aged 50 to watching an average of 19 minutes a day of digital video during the second quarter of 2014, up from 11 minutes a day during the same period last year, according to new research.
The findings, from Nielsen, comes as adults in that age group have cut back the time they spend in front of television screens by six minutes, to 6 hours and 12 minutes a day.
“Today we are challenged with an important transition in how media is consumed,” Dounia Turrill, senior vice president for insights at Nielsen, wrote in the report. “Yet, it’s not just a young versus ‘older’ story.”
In total, the amount of time adults are spending in front of a television screen declined 2 percent during the period, according to Nielsen.
But an increase in viewing on computers and mobile devices is fueling 4 percent overall growth in media consumption.
Digital viewing is growing most quickly for adults older than 35.
Younger viewers are spending much less time in front of the television screen and more time watching digital video. Children 12 to 17 are spending about 2 hours and 43 minutes a day watching television — the least amount of time of any age group.
The report also points to a rapid increase in the amount of time that people are spending in using a smartphone. On average, adults spent 1 hour and 25 minutes using a smartphone during the second quarter, up from just 48 minutes during the same period two years ago.
“The overarching data suggests that the growth of media consumption is and will continue to be in digital for all consumers,” Ms. Turrill said. “We can surmise that having tasted the freedom of choice, the American consumer will not go back to old ways.”