Explaner: “How much digital entertainment per day?”… Australians spend an average of 6 hours a day

Key Points

• Deloitte report shows Australian media and entertainment consumption decreases by about 10% compared to the previous year
• The average monthly spending per household was $63, a 10% increase over the previous year.
• Most Australians consume some form of media first thing when they wake up in the morning, on their way to work or before going to bed.

How many hours do you spend on digital devices each day? A recent Deloitte report found that Australians are consuming more than six hours of digital entertainment each day. According to Deloitte’s Media Entertainment Consumer Insights report, most Australians wake up in the morning and , reported consuming media in some form first, on the way to work and before going to bed.

Despite cost-of-living pressures, Australians were paying more for streaming services with increased rates, according to the report. The average monthly spending per household increased 10% from the previous year to $63, and the number of services subscribed to also increased from 3.2 to 3.3.

However, Australians’ overall media and entertainment consumption has decreased by around 10% compared to 2023. Particularly among young people aged 16 to 24, time spent consuming media has fallen by about a quarter. Meanwhile, three in four Australians aged 16 and over consume media as soon as they wake up, and four in five consume media just before going to bed. “The idea that media consumption peaks at a certain point in the day is no longer true,” said Peter Corbett, senior partner at Deloitte. “By 2024, streaming services will replace traditional free-to-air TV broadcasts.” “It’s outpacing popularity, and different formats are winning the battle for people’s attention at different times of the day.”

On average, Australians spend an average of 8 hours and 20 minutes each week watching streaming platforms, 8 hours and 20 minutes watching free-to-air TV and an average of 3 hours and 40 minutes on free video streaming platforms such as YouTube.

On average, Australians spend eight hours and 20 minutes each week watching streaming platforms and another eight hours and 20 minutes on live free-to-air television. Source: SBS

I spent an average of seven hours a week listening to music and radio, six hours and 20 minutes on social media, and three hours playing video games.

The media Australians spent more time on this year compared to last year were podcasts and audiobooks. The time spent on podcasts and audiobooks, which recorded 1 hour and 50 minutes last year, increased to 2 hours and 15 minutes this year, and the time spent watching news and magazines recorded 2 hours and 50 minutes both last year and this year.

The only media that Australians are spending more time on this year compared to last are podcasts and audiobooks. Source: SBS

The survey found that Australians want diverse representation in media, with 64% of young people aged 16 to 24 saying they actively seek out diverse voices in the media they consume. Overall, the most used social media platform by Australians was Facebook, followed by YouTube and Instagram. However, young people were found to prefer YouTube and TikTok. The federal government announced plans to ban access to social media for children under 16. Nearly 90% of Australians agree that there should be greater restrictions on children’s access to social media. However, only 56% of respondents were in favor of outright banning accounts under 16 years of age. In particular, only 36% of young people aged 16 to 24 expressed their support.

Additionally, 44% of respondents supported limiting how platforms use data, personalization and algorithms to maximize social media use.