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Baby Boomers have lots of boob tube time
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When it comes to watching television, it isn't the teenager or 20-something who's logging the most couch potato time, it's the Baby Boomers and older.
That nugget is included among a slew of data from a new assessment by the Nielsen Co. of viewership -- not just of television but of Internet and mobile devices as well.
The assessment is called a "Three Screen Report" and shows that television remains the king of the hill when it comes to viewership.
Of the nation's 306 million people, about 285 million watched TV in their homes in the fourth quarter of 2008 (October-December). That's an increase of 1 percent -- about three million people -- over the previous quarter.
According to the statistical breakdown, the older the group the more hours it watched television during the three-month fourth quarter:
18 to 24: 118 hours, 24 minutes
25 to 34: 142 hours, 29 minutes
35 to 44: 147 hours, 21 minutes
45 to 54: 173 hours, 0 minutes
55 to 64: 190 hours, 40 minutes
65-plus: 207 hours, 29 minutes
I examined recently the growth of Baby Boomers online, and the report bears that out.
Younger Baby Boomers (45 to 54) spent 37 hours and 06 minutes using the Internet during the quarter. Older Baby Boomers (55 to 64) were online 33 hours and 39 minutes. It's interesting to note that Baby Boomers as a group logged more online time than teens (11 hours, 27 minutes) and young adults (28 hours and 15 minutes).
It looks like the recession and depressing news about economic turmoil are turning people inward.
“The American fascination with television and other video content is not easing up, as consumers keep turning to TV, Internet and Mobile at record levels,” said Susan Whiting, vice chair of The Nielsen Company. “Viewers appear to be choosing the best screen available for their video consumption, weighing a variety of factors, including convenience, quality and access. It is clear that TV remains the main vehicle for viewing video, although online and mobile platforms are an increasingly important complement to live home-based television.”
A couple of other interesting notes:
- Men continue to watch video on mobile phones more than women, and women continue to watch video on the Internet and television more than men,
- Weekdays outpace weekends for online video viewing with 6s5 percent of online video viewers streaming content between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, versus 51 percent of online video viewers logging on between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekends.
Hmmmm ... aren't the hours between 9 and 5 on weekdays usually the hours these people are supposed to be working?
Nielsen Co.
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