German study puts under-30s at 47 minutes a day of social-media video

The ARD/ZDF Medienstudie 2026, Germany's principal annual media-usage survey, was published on 22 September 2026 by ZDF and ARD. It records video in social media reaching 47 minutes a day among 14- to 29-year-olds, against 36 minutes a day in the 2025 edition.

Non-linear video reached 55% of the population aged 14 and over daily, against 56% for linear television; the previous edition recorded 56% and 59%. Across the population aged 14 and over, daily non-linear viewing divided into 35 minutes for streaming services, 21 for YouTube, 15 for video in social media, 10 for broadcaster catch-up services and six for other offerings. Among 14- to 29-year-olds, non-linear viewing ran to 150 minutes a day against 24 minutes of linear television. YouTube reached 71% of the population aged 14 and over.

Two limits apply. The fieldwork ran from 27 January to 19 April 2026, so the measurement predates publication by five months. And the study contains no microdrama, vertical drama or Hochkant category: video in social media is a platform grouping, not a format, and cannot be read as a measure of vertical-drama viewing.