Content Consumption and Age

Think you know the generations and their Internet habits? Which generation do you think spends the most hours consuming content: the Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, or the Millennials?

Fractl and Buzzstream discovered a few interesting tidbits about the different Internet habits of the different age groups when they surveyed 1,200 adults. The adults were divided into groups of Millennials (1977-1995), Generation Xers (1965-1976), and Baby Boomers (1946-1964). Here are the results:

Time Spent Consuming Content

Baby Boomers were found to spend 10% more time consuming content than younger generations. While 23% of Millenials and Generation Xers spend about 5-10 hours per week consuming content the Baby Boomers were spending 20 or more hours each week.

When Is Content Consumed

Studies show that most Baby Boomers spend more time online during the week while a Millennial is more likely to save their content for the weekend. Generation Xers fall more in the middle of the spectrum. 8pm to midnight are peak times for Millennials and Gen Xers to be on the Internet while about 40% of Baby Boomers will be online between 5 am and noon.

Most Popular Devices

Across the board, the results concluded the most popular device among all three generations was the Laptop. However, 26% of Millennials use their mobile phone as their primary device instead. The least used device by any generation was a tablet.

Ideal Length for Content

Three hundred words is the magic number for written content length for all three generations. Baby Boomers had the highest preference for articles under 200 words while the Generation Xers were most likely to stick around for articles with 500 hundred words or more.

Engaging Content

Different generations prefer different types of content. A little over 50% of Millenials are interested in entertainment, about 48% are interested in content about technology, and 35 % were interested in food. Generation Xers shared these same three interests while the Baby Boomers were significantly more engaged with health and news then any other generation. Across the board, less then 10% of each generation was interested in automotive content.

Were you surprised by the results?

After you’ve established who your target audience is, you can use these statistics to help your marketing strategy. By observing how the different generations consume content you can concentrate and modify your digital strategy to maximize its influence. 

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