Swiping on TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels surges ahead of SVoD, TV, gaming according to Ampere Analysis

People are spending more time watching shortform video on social media platforms than they are watching subscription streaming services and TV, according to new research from Ampere Analysis.

More than 60% of the global online population now watches shortform video content on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels every day, the research firm has found.

Ampere said it only expects this figure to rise in future, due to the ability of social media algorithms to predict what content viewers will want to watch before they know themselves.

The algorithm-driven social media platforms, on which viewers swipe or scroll from one video to the next, now score as the second most used media format daily (63%), after generalist social media apps (73%).

These usage rates exceed broadcast TV channels (47%), longform streaming services (46%) and gaming (34%), according to the Ampere research, which looked at internet users’ daily usage of various media platforms in 30 different markets around the world.

Shortform swiping has particularly taken hold in South-East Asia, with the Philippines (83%), Thailand (83%) and Indonesia (82%) having the highest proportions of online populations watching this format every day across the markets Ampere surveyed.

It also found the popularity of shortform content swiping extends beyond the Gen Z audience.

While 18- to 24-year-olds are most likely to view shortform swiping content (73% daily usage), those aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 also have significant daily usage at 58% and 49%, respectively.

Ampere’s Media: Consumer tracker delivers a twice-yearly quantitative consumer survey across 30 markets, interviewing 112,000 respondents per year. The study is run across a nationally representative panel of internet households in each country it covers.

The respondents who watch shortform swiping content daily are most likely to use YouTube (78% had visited in the past week), Instagram (41%), TikTok (39%) and Facebook (38%).

Sam Nursall, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis, said: “Social media algorithms are responsible for the usage rates in shortform swiping across the globe. The platforms employ highly efficient apps to deliver relevant and engaging content, giving them a distinct advantage over traditional media.

“While broadcast television offers a range of choices for viewers, algorithmic social media knows what people are likely to want to watch before they do. With 63% of the global online population consuming shortform video content on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and other platforms, the growth in viewer appetite within this relatively new medium highlights the power of these algorithms.”