Media Consumption Trends 2025: Insights for UK Social Media Marketing

The following research was created by YouGov, exploring how people in Britain are consuming media in 2025. At Pepper, we’ve taken those insights and pulled out what really matters for brands thinking about their social media marketing.

If there’s one takeaway - people are consuming more media than ever, across more platforms than ever, and the lines between scrolling, streaming and shopping are blurring fast. Let’s break it down.

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1. Media use is high - and fragmented

• Brits spend 3 to 5 hours with media on a weekend on average
• Gen Z lead as weekend “super consumers”, while Baby Boomers take that spot midweek
• Live TV, streaming, radio, podcasts, social and news are all still in play

For marketers, this means attention is spread thin. A single-channel strategy won’t cut it. The brands winning in 2025 are the ones showing up in the right places at the right times, with content that fits how people actually consume it.

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2. Generations matter more than ever

• Boomers still drive live TV and radio habits
• Gen Z and Millennials are powering growth on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
• Gen X sit somewhere in the middle - with mixed behaviours across TV, social and streaming

So what? It means a Facebook-first plan might work with older customers, but it will totally miss the mark with younger audiences. The smartest social media strategies flex by generation, balancing long-form storytelling with quick-hit video to reach people where they’re most engaged.

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3. Social media drives action, not just awareness

• 70% of Brits used social media in the last month, rising to 81% among Gen Z and Millennials
• 42% of social users have bought something because of a social ad - more than half of Gen Z and Millennials

This is massive. Social is no longer just where people discover brands - it’s where they decide to buy. If your ads don’t feel tailored, natural and part of the scroll, you’ll lose out to the brands who do it better.

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4. Multi-screening is the new normal

• 7 in 10 people use social while watching TV, listening to the radio or streaming
• For Millennials, it’s closer to 4 in 5

This means your audience is distracted. They’re not watching or scrolling, they’re doing both at once. Campaigns need to cut through in seconds, or better yet, work across screens - think synced social and TV activity, or short-form creative that lands even in the background.

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5. Platforms to watch in 2025

• YouTube use is climbing fast, with more people saying they’re on it more than last year than any other platform
• Instagram and TikTok continue to dominate younger demographics
• Facebook still holds with Boomers, but is fading with younger groups

The bottom line - video-first content is no longer optional. YouTube, TikTok and Reels are where people spend time, and where purchase journeys increasingly start.

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What this means for brands in 2025

• Know your audience - don’t waste budget shouting into the wrong channel
• Invest in social commerce - because the data says people are buying directly from ads
• Design for distraction - campaigns need to land even when attention is split
• Prioritise video - it’s the default format now, not an extra

At Pepper, we don’t see these changes as barriers - we see them as opportunities to connect more meaningfully with audiences. The brands that adapt fastest will be the ones that thrive in this new landscape.