Over 40% of UK social media customers are additionally utilizing X lower than a yr in the past, in comparison with simply 15% who use it extra, in line with the examine.
A couple of in 4 (28%) UK social media customers say they use YouTube greater than they did a yr in the past, in line with YouGov’s annual media consumption report.
YouTube noticed the most important enhance in use throughout all social media platforms, forward of Instagram (25%) and TikTok (21%). Amongst Gen Z, this rises to 38% of respondents who report utilizing YouTube greater than a yr in the past.
Zooming in on the previous month, 65% of all social media customers have used YouTube, rising to 80% amongst Gen Z. The platform’s attraction shouldn’t be confined to youthful demographics, with a majority of Child Boomers (53%) saying they used YouTube previously month.
The findings mirror Ofcom’s annual report on UK media habits, which reveals YouTube is changing into the primary cease for youthful TV viewers.
In response to the analysis, 20% of Gen Alpha (aged 4 to fifteen) open the YouTube app first after they swap on the TV. It’s now the UK’s second most-watched media service, behind solely the BBC.
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Regardless of YouTube having a decrease penetration in Britain in comparison with different markets (65% of Britons used it previously month, in comparison with a median of 73% within the 17 markets surveyed), YouGov’s head of digital media and expertise Justin Marshall says it’s “definitely potential” the community has “extra room for progress”, each by way of the variety of customers and frequency of use or time spent on the platform.
“In 2025, the British media panorama is extra dynamic and fragmented than ever earlier than,” he says. “With content material flowing throughout numerous platforms and codecs, understanding which sort of media and the way a lot totally different teams interact with has develop into important for anybody looking for to attach with audiences in significant methods.”
YouGov classifies YouTube as social media, although debate continues over whether or not it ought to be seen as TV or streaming as an alternative. In July, Barb, the UK’s business commonplace for measuring viewing, started reporting TV-set viewing to YouTube channels, in what it claims is a world first. It has chosen 200 of the most-watched channels to characteristic in its common viewers studies.
In the meantime, Ofcom’s analysis finds that half of YouTube’s high trending movies now resemble conventional TV codecs reminiscent of long-form interviews and recreation reveals, positioning the platform as a direct competitor to ad-supported TV.
Total, 70% of respondents to YouGov’s examine used social media previously month, rising to 81% amongst Gen Z and millennials.
By comparability, 63% watched streaming content material and 59% watched stay TV. Netflix leads amongst on-demand TV viewers, with 77% utilizing it, adopted by Amazon Prime Video (60%) and Disney+ (38%).Social media ‘most overrated’ advertising ability, examine finds
Diving deeper into YouGov’s information, Fb stays probably the most used social platform, with 76% of Britons saying they used it previously month, pushed largely by Child Boomers (83%) in comparison with simply 58% of Gen Z.
Against this, 41% say they use X lower than a yr in the past, in comparison with simply 15% who use it extra, suggesting customers are transferring away from Elon Musk’s platform.
Equally, 36% say they use Snapchat lower than a yr in the past, versus 8% who use it extra.
In the meantime, 4 in 10 social media customers say they’ve purchased one thing on account of a social advert, rising to 53% amongst Gen Z and millennials, signalling the effectiveness of social media promoting.
