Picture a typical day for a 22-year-old: half-watching a show while texting a friend, skipping ads mid-scroll, queuing up a true crime podcast for the commute, and still finding time to pick up a paperback before bed. Gen Z’s media day is longer, busier and more layered than any generation’s.
This piece breaks that day down medium by medium, drawing on further analysis of the underlying data behind Attest’s 2026 media consumption report. From live TV and streaming through to books, radio, podcasts and every major social platform, find out what actually holds their attention and how much advertising they’ll tolerate before switching off.
It’s the complete picture a brand needs before building a Gen Z strategy.
TL:DR
- Gen Z streams TV for around 2 hours a day, Netflix leads both organic and ad-tier use.
- Most Gen Z multitask while watching TV rather than giving it full attention, primarily by scrolling social media.
- Social video claims around 5 hours a day among viewers, increasingly in long sessions rather than quick clips.
- More than half of Gen Z listen to podcasts daily with clear genre preferences for comedy and true crime.
- The majority spend time reading each day, and physical books still outperform digital ones.
- Search is now split meaningfully between Google and social platforms.
- Gen Z skips ads at the highest rate of any generation, and AI-generated ads are a distinctly bigger turn-off for them.
A typical day in Gen Z’s media diet
| US Gen Z: time / reach | UK Gen Z: time / reach | |
|---|---|---|
| Live TV | 1h 43m / 64% | 1h 14m / 70% |
| Streaming service | 2h 06m / 84% | 2h 02m / 91% |
| YouTube | 2h 33m / 95% | 1h 59m / 94% |
| TikTok | 1h 56m / 70% | 2h 10m / 82% |
| Facebook/Instagram video | 1h 35m / 81% | 1h 27m / 89% |
| News sites/apps | 50m / 66% | 37m / 73% |
| Physical newspaper | 1h 01m / 32% | 34m / 35% |
| Digital book | 1h 13m / 43% | 53m / 37% |
| Physical book | 1h 05m / 62% | 1h 00m / 63% |
| Radio | 1h 02m / 58% | 51m / 55% |
| Music streaming | 2h 01m / 84% | 2h 04m / 93% |
| Podcast | 1h 22m / 54% | 53m / 57% |
| Audiobook | 1h 14m / 35% | 47m / 36% |
Time figures show average daily time spent on a typical weekday among Gen Z (18 to 29-year-olds) who use a given format, excluding those who don’t use it at all. Reach shows what share of Gen Z that is.
Live TV
Live TV reaches 64% of US Gen Z and 70% of UK Gen Z. Among viewers, it claims 1 hour 43 minutes a day in the US and 1 hour 14 minutes in the UK – less time than streaming but still a real habit for the majority.
However, when Gen Z watches TV (whether that’s live or streamed) only around 1 in 8 give it their full, undivided attention. Scrolling social media is the most common accompanying activity for Gen Z in both markets.
Streamed TV
Eighty-four percent of US Gen Z and 91% of UK Gen Z use a subscription streaming service on a typical day, and among those who do, it claims 2 hours 6 minutes a day in the US and 2 hours 2 minutes in the UK. Streaming TV is a sticky habit, with 42% of US Gen Z and 39% of UK Gen Z saying they have trouble stopping once they start.
In terms of platforms, Netflix leads by a wide margin, watched weekly by 64% of US Gen Z and 74% of UK Gen Z. In the US, Hulu and Disney+ tie for second (39% each), with Amazon Prime close behind (37%). In the UK, Amazon Prime and Disney+ tie for second (43% each), followed by BBC iPlayer (33%).
Ad-supported tiers have real reach within this generation: 71% of US Gen Z and 62% of UK Gen Z use at least one streaming service with ads. Netflix’s ad tier leads in both markets (36% US, 42% UK), followed by Amazon Prime (31% US, 34% UK).
Given the choice, Gen Z skips ads on streamed TV more than any other generation: 68% always or usually do in the US, rising to 76% in the UK. The point at which advertising becomes excessive sits at roughly 14 to 15 minutes between ad breaks in both markets.
Social video
Taken together, social video reaches close to all of Gen Z: 97% in the US and 98% in the UK use at least one of YouTube, TikTok or Facebook/Instagram video, and among that group, combined viewing runs to 5 hours 12 minutes a day in the US and 5 hours flat in the UK.
This is increasingly long-form viewing, not just quick clips. A majority of Gen Z, 53% in the US and 60% in the UK, regularly watches content longer than 15 minutes on at least two of these three platforms, and most of that viewing happens on a smartphone rather than a bigger screen.
Ad skip behavior runs higher here than on streamed TV: 82% of US Gen Z and 88% of UK Gen Z always or usually skip ads when given the option, and the point advertising becomes excessive sits closer to 11 to 13 minutes between ads, tighter than the threshold for streamed TV.
Asked what makes them disengage from advertising generally, too many ads (49% US, 52% UK), long ads (45% US, 49% UK) and repetitive ads (40% US, 41% UK) top the list in both markets, though AI-generated ads stand out as a specifically generational concern, cited by 35% of US Gen Z and 33% of UK Gen Z, well above older generations.
Social media
Gen Z checks social media an average of 6.8 times a day in the US and 7.7 times a day in the UK.
Beyond social video platforms, Snapchat reaches 67% of US Gen Z and 81% of UK Gen Z, with 27% and 48% respectively using it daily. Reddit reaches 68% of Gen Z in both markets (16% daily in the US, 10% in the UK), and Pinterest reaches 67% in the US and 65% in the UK (12-13% daily in both). X reaches roughly six in ten Gen Z in each market, while LinkedIn and Threads sit further back, each reaching around half of Gen Z but with daily use in the single digits.
Social media is Gen Z’s stickiest habit by some distance: 65% of US Gen Z and 71% of UK Gen Z say they have trouble stopping once they start scrolling, well above every other habit tested.
That stickiness shows up clearly when Gen Z is asked which platform they feel mildly addicted to. In the US, the ranking runs YouTube (59%), TikTok and Instagram (42% each), Facebook (26%), then X and Snapchat (18% each). In the UK, TikTok takes the top spot instead (57%), ahead of YouTube (43%), Instagram (42%), Snapchat (24%), X (19%) and Facebook (19%).
Music streaming
Music streaming reaches 84% of US Gen Z and 93% of UK Gen Z, and among listeners, it claims 2 hours 1 minute a day in the US and 2 hours 4 minutes in the UK, the single biggest audio habit by a wide margin.
Spotify dominates the category: used regularly by 57% of US Gen Z and 73% of UK Gen Z. YouTube Music holds a consistent second place in both markets (35% each), ahead of Apple Music (28% US, 19% UK).
Spotify’s ad-supported tier reaches a greater share of this generation in the UK than in the US: 39% of UK Gen Z vs. 26% of US Gen Z.
Radio
Radio reaches 58% of US Gen Z and 55% of UK Gen Z, and among listeners, it claims 1 hour 2 minutes a day in the US and 51 minutes in the UK. Despite its age, radio remains a genuine daily habit for the majority of even the most digitally native generation, and is not a format Gen Z has abandoned.
Podcasts
Podcasts reach 54% of US Gen Z and 57% of UK Gen Z. Listeners tune in for an average of 1 hour 22 minutes a day in the US and 53 minutes in the UK.
Comedy and true crime lead in both markets, though US Gen Z engages considerably more with news and politics podcasts than their UK counterparts. Sport and health/wellbeing are strong secondary categories in both markets, useful territory for brands in fitness, food and lifestyle categories specifically.
Podcast listening is also Gen Z’s calmest habit of any tested: just 28% of US Gen Z and 20% of UK Gen Z say they have trouble stopping, far below social media, even measured against their own heavier use of other platforms.
Books and audiobooks
While Gen Z are characterized as always having a phone in their hands, they do still read books. Physical books reach 62% of US Gen Z and 63% of UK Gen Z. Among readers, the average daily reading time is 1 hour 5 minutes in the US and 59 minutes in the UK.
Digital books reach fewer; 43% in the US and 37% in the UK, claiming 1 hour 13 minutes and 53 minutes respectively among readers.
Audiobooks reach the smallest share; 35% in the US and 36% in the UK, but among listeners still claim 1 hour 16 minutes and 47 minutes a day. Print, in other words, still edges out the digital format most associated with younger readers, and reading in some form remains a daily habit for the majority of this generation.
Newspapers and digital content
News websites and apps reach 66% of US Gen Z and 73% of UK Gen Z. Those who use them, read for an average of 50 minutes a day in the US and 37 minutes in the UK. In terms of ‘stickiness’, around a quarter of Gen Z say they have trouble stopping once they start scrolling a news app.
Physical newspapers reach far fewer; 32% in the US and 35% in the UK, though among the people who still read one, it claims a comparable 1 hour 1 minute in the US and 34 minutes in the UK.
On content subscriptions specifically, a quarter of Gen Z in each market pay for digital content (25% US, 28% UK), with smaller shares paying for both digital and print (17% US, 14% UK) or print alone (8% US, 6% UK).
Search
Google remains the most-used search tool for Gen Z in both markets (83% US, 87% UK), but it’s no longer the only serious option. Social media search is a close second: 65% of US Gen Z and 75% of UK Gen Z are likely to search social platforms before a purchase, far above older generations in both markets.
AI search engines or assistants are typically used by 50% in both markets, while discovery via review sites or communities (such as Reddit or TripAdvisor) sits at 58% in the US and 61% in the UK. For Gen Z specifically, a purchase decision is now as likely to start on a social platform as it is on Google.
Get more Gen Z media insights
Download Attest’s 2026 media consumption report for even more insight into Gen Z’s media habits, and what they mean for brands trying to reach them. You can also get the low-down on other age groups for the full picture on generational attention, ad tolerance and discovery habits.
Methodology
These findings draw on a nationally representative survey of 1,000 US and 1,000 UK adults fielded in June 2026, supplemented by Attest’s media habits tracker, surveying 1,000 adults in each market quarterly since 2022.
Gen Z refers to 18 to 29-year-olds throughout, and all differences reported as significant have been tested at the standard 95% confidence level.
