Concern about social media misinformation fails to curb use among young Brits

Today marks the 20^th anniversary of the pioneering dataset during which time it has captured more than 33 million half-hour slots of audience behaviour, creating one of the richest single-source views of Britons’ daily lives and media habits.

The latest TouchPoints data reveals that a considerable 78.7% of all adults are concerned about the amount of misinformation on social media. This is high for all age ranges with the younger and older generations rating this almost identically at 79.1% and 79.2% respectively, although this percentage is slightly lower among 35s-54s at 77.2%.

Despite this, the younger generation (16-34s) spend 2 hours 31 minutes on average per day on social media, and all adults spend an average of 1 hour and 34 minutes on social media per day (1 hour 42 minutes for 35-54s, 56 minutes for 55s-74s and 28 minutes for over 75s.)

Furthermore, according to the weekly reach figures, nearly three-quarters of adults use social media in a typical week (73.9%), rising to almost nine out of 10 16- to 34-year-olds (88.9%).

Social media also now dominates in terms of specific, most-used media properties. Among all UK adults, social media platforms are the three most-used media properties, while for younger audiences the top five spots are all occupied by social media platforms. Meanwhile, traditional broadcasters remain strongest among the older generation.

In terms of device, the data also reveals that people are increasingly turning to smartphones to access curated commercial media, with 34% of all consumption taking place on smartphones. Within this, in terms of share of all adults’ activity on mobile devices: Social media/messaging dominates at 47%, followed by TV/Video at 23% and Radio/Audio at 16%.

Says Dan Flynn, Director of Media Research, IPA:

“We all have our various reasons for going on social media, but what is interesting from this data is that, in spite of our concerns about it serving up misinformation – we still choose to engage with it. This truly demonstrates the hold and power it has over us.”

Says Graeme Griffiths, Director of Media Research, IPA:

“When we first established IPA TouchPoints 20 years ago, there was no Snapchat, no TikTok and no Instagram, and Facebook and YouTube were only in their infancy. And it’s not just new media that TouchPoints captures, but also the evolution of the more traditional channels, fuelled by technology - whether that’s television with BVOD, SVOD and Video in general, or the development of digital OOH, or with the eruption of podcasts, for example.

Further lifestyle insights from the 2026 IPA TouchPoints data reveal:

• Brits spend an average of 7 hours 24 minutes a day per week on a screen (TV Set or Laptop/Desktop PC or Tablet or Mobile Phone or Regular Games Console or Handheld Games Console).
• 6% of Brits say they are satisfied with their lives right now (53.6% 16-34s) (55.3% for 35-54s and 66.8% for 55+s.
• 2% of Brits say they are coping on their current income. This is highest for those aged 55+ at 72.1% (vs 48% for 16-34s and 56% for 35-54s).
• Almost 40% of all adults (39.1%) agree that they are actively changing areas of their lives to reduce their carbon footprint and live more sustainable lives. This does not vary much between the different ages (41.1% for 16-34s; 37.7% for 35-54s and 39% for 55+s).
• Spending time with family matters considerably to all generations, with 86.3% of all adults saying they enjoy spending time with them. The middle (88.1%) and older generation (87.8%) rate this slightly higher than the younger generation (82%).
• In terms of ‘liking different people, cultures, ideas and lifestyles around me, just over a third of all adults agree to this (66.7%). This is higher for the younger generation (76.6%) and middle generation (69.9%), and lowest for those aged 55+ (58.1%).
• Over half of the younger generation (51.3%) believe that AI has the potential to positively transform all our lives. This is at 42.5% for 35- 54-year-olds, and considerably lower for those aged 55+ at 35.8%, bringing the average percentage for all adults down to 42.4%.

IPA TouchPoints is a unique, consumer-centric, cross-media, cross-device database detailing the daily habits and media usage of GB adults (aged 16+). It is the only dataset that connects media use with consumers’ daily routines, emotions, and context. Sample size for the 2026 IPA TouchPoints data: 6,256 British adults (aged 16+).