Watching videos online using sites such as YouTube is the most popular online entertainment and amusement activity done by over 13.2 million Australians (63%) in an average four weeks and is slightly more popular with men (65%) than women (61%).
Over 9 million Australians (43%) listen to music online in an average four weeks and this activity is also slightly more popular amongst men (44%) than women (42%).
In third place is participating and playing games online which is done by 7.9 million Australians (38%) and perhaps surprisingly women (40%) are more likely to be playing games online than men (36%).
Around a third of Australians, 6.7 million (32%), upload photos online to sites such as Facebook or Pinterest with women (35%) more likely to do so than men (28%).
Other entertainment and amusement activities undertaken online include downloading music (27% in an average four weeks), watching TV such as ABC iview (22%), streaming or downloading video clips (19%), streaming or downloading TV programs (18%), watching movies (17%), downloading audio/video podcasts (17%), streaming or downloading games (14%), streaming or downloading feature length movies (14%), viewing adult entertainment (13%), watching an event live such as a concert (11%), participating in gambling (8%) or uploading videos to sites like YouTube (7%).
Entertainment & Amusement services activities done online – September 2020
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, August – September 2020. n=11,034. Base: Australians 14+
Gen Z is the most likely generation to watch online videos
Nearly two-thirds of Australians (63%) watch videos online at sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, Rumble and others in an average four weeks representing 13.2 million Australians aged 14+.
Unsurprisingly it is people in Gen Z, born between 1991-2006, and basically Australians aged under 30, who are the most likely to watch videos online with 75% doing so in an average four weeks – more than double the rate for the Pre-Boomers (37%) born before 1946.
The likelihood of watching videos online is strongly correlated to age with 68% of Millennials watching videos online, 59% of people in Gen X and 56% of Baby Boomers.
Australians watching online videos by Generation – Sept. 2020
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, August – September 2020. n=11,034. Base: Australians 14+
Although most online entertainment and amusement activities are correlated to age, with younger Australians more likely to partake in the activity than older Australians, there are exceptions including watching TV online and gambling online.
Around a quarter of Millennials (25%) watch TV such as ABC’s iview online in an average four weeks – higher than any other generation, and the generations most likely to gamble online in an average four weeks are Millennials (10%), Gen X (9%) and Baby Boomers (8%).
Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, says entertainment activities are a big part of the online experience and over 16.2 million Australians engage in at these activities at least once a month with watching videos, listening to music and playing games the favourites: