Middle-aged Americans spend more time on social media than millennials, upending the common assumption that mostly young people are addicted to their smartphones.
A recent report from Nielsen found that Generation X, or people between the ages of 35 to 49, spend almost seven hours a week on social media. Millennials, aged between 18 and 34, spend a little more than 6 hours per week, the study found. By contrast, people over 50 spend about 4 hours a week on social media.
The study found that Generation X members spend about 32 hours a week consuming all media, while millennials spend about 27 hours. Those over 50 spend about 20 hours on all media, according to the report.
Nielsen conducted the study in the third quarter of 2016, accounting for 9,000 smartphone and 1,300 tablet users across the U.S. The study measured media activity passively to avoid self-reporting bias, Bloomberg reported.