Media Consumption Across Gender

Media is a major aspect of American life. Whether it’s social media, visual entertainment, or audio content, Americans spend a significant amount of time and attention in the media sphere. American’s focus on media presents an awesome opportunity for brands to connect with consumers. But to do this efficiently and effectively, brands need to understand where people are going to consume media content, and why they’re going there.

  • Are they following specific topics?
  • Are they following influencers?
  • Are they looking for products to purchase?
  • Are they just killing time?
  • Is it device dependent?
  • Does it depend on the race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender of the characters or hosts?

Collage Group’s 2021 Media Study answers these questions. Our research reveals the specific platforms media users go to by gender, and what they’re using them for. This research also dives deep into content and platform drivers, including topics of interest and what consumers value in the personalities (e.g., influencers, podcast hosts, characters) they interact with across social, visual, and audio media.

Below are a several key insights we unearthed about media consumption by gender.

Fill out the form to view a sample from our research on
attitudes and behaviors around Media Consumption by Gender. 

Media Consumption by Gender

Social Media

Key Insight: Women visit social media sites to keep up with friends and family significantly more than men. However, women’s platform preferences vary by age.

About 9 in 10 women who use social media do so to keep in touch with family and friends. Overall, Facebook is the most popular platform for women staying in touch with people they know, but there are significant differences in platform preference between younger women (18-40) and older women (41-75). While 78% of older women primarily use Facebook as their main platform to stay connected with others, younger women use a more varied line up of platforms with their 2nd (Instagram) and 3rd (Snapchat) choices garnering substantially higher usage rates than older women’s respective preferences.

Women are More Likely to use Social Media than Men

Visual Media

Key Insight: Compared to other consumers, younger women watch cable TV the least and stream video content the most.

While almost a third of older men and women still subscribe to cable and satellite TV, only about a quarter of younger women now pay for traditional TV services. While all groups are likely to use multiple visual streaming platforms to access the content their favorite content, younger women subscribe to more streaming platforms per person than both men their age and older consumers of any gender.

Younger Women are Using the Most Streaming Services

Audio Media

Key Insight: When choosing podcasts and radio shows, women prioritize relaxing content.

Over one third of women say they prefer podcasts that help them relax and forget about their worries. When it comes to choosing radio shows, even more women (43%) say that relaxation and providing a reprieve from worry is a primary consideration. In both cases, women are significantly more likely to use these criteria than men when selecting podcasts and radio shows.

Women Prioritize Podcast and Radio Shows that are Relaxing

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