Survey: Social media, streaming use continues to rise
“Screen time” is steadily increasing among Americans.
More than half (58% )of Americans use email multiple times a day, 59% use social media multiple times a day, while 33% use streaming services like Netflix multiple times daily, according to cybersecurity company Upwind. The majority of Americans have increased their dependence on every digital service category since 2019, but social media has seen the greatest increase.
More than 90% of Americans use email at least once daily, while 82% use social media at least once a day. Meanwhile, streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are leisurely priorities, with 33% of respondents accessing them daily and another 33% using them multiple times daily.
“For Americans to adopt these tools into their daily lives, they need to transition from helpful extras to indispensables, encouraging frequent use and integrating them into everyday habits,” said Upwind. “For now, email is the digital service that has become most deeply embedded in Americans’ routines.”
Overall, more than half of American respondents (57%) are more active on social media than they were five years ago. Nearly a third (31%) say their own social media use has gone up significantly, while another 26% admit their use has increased somewhat since 2019. More than half (56%) of respondents told Upwind their reliance on streaming services has grown, making it a close second to social media.
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The advent of AI tools has led to changing habits for consumers as well. Nearly two-in-three respondents use AI tools at least weekly. Just over 17% of people say they use services like Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, or ChatGPT multiple times per day, while almost 30% of us use these tools rarely or never.
While 18% of respondents report never having used AI tools or services, of the respondents who are acquainted with these types of services, 61% have increased their use in the last 5 years.
Upwind’s survey was conducted via Pollfish, with 1,200 American respondents, on Nov. 20, 2024.