Canadian adults will spend an average of 9 hours and 41 minutes a day using media in 2016 – nearly two-and-a-half hours less than the average U.S. adult – with mobile driving much of the growth.
Time spent with digital media – including both PC and non-voice mobile usage – now exceeds TV by nearly an hour each day (4 hours and 21 minutes for digital, versus 3 hours and 22 minutes for TV), and the gap continues to widen.
The report by eMarketer said gains in time spent on mobile were partly attributable to widespread adoption of tablets and smartphones.
People who already used mobile devices will spend nearly an hour more with them this year than they did in 2012, thanks to increased availability of content and the fact that their use has become part of their daily routine. The pattern for tablet users is similar, the report said.
The research company said there is “slow but steady erosion” in PC and laptop use, with mobile now exceeding the time spent with those devices by more than 30 minutes each day (2 hours, 28 minutes, versus 1 hour and 53 minutes).
The report also predicted time spent with TV would decline by 21 minutes per day between 2012 and 2018, though its declines in time spent over the next three years will be modest: 1.8%, 1.9% and 1.8%.
TV, radio (1 hour, 34 minutes) and print (24 minutes) will account for 55% of the daily time spent with media this year, but that number is expected to drop to 51.9% by 2018.
The biggest drops are for print, with time spent falling by 8.6% in 2014 and a further 7.2% last year. Magazines have been particularly hard hit, with time spent falling by 9.5% and 10.1% in the past two years.
Daily time spent with media is expected to see modest growth over the forecast period, increasing 1.3% this year, 0.5% in 2017 and 0.2% in 2018.
