Do celebrities' and acquaintances' SNS accounts hold power comparable to mass media?

Dentsu Inc. Media Innovation Lab published the " Information Media White Paper 2020 " (Diamond Inc.) in February.

To examine the evolving position and role of media in the Reiwa era, this year's opening feature is structured in two parts:

■Feature: The Role of Media and Audiences in the Reiwa "New" Era
・Part 1: Media's "Current Position" as Revealed by Six "Signs" of Media Usage
・Part 2: The Transforming Audience: The Future of Media Society Shaped by the Shared Consciousness of Younger Generations

Both parts provide an overview of how people engage with media, based on various survey results.

This series will introduce the essence of this opening feature, accompanied by data and charts. In the first installment, we will organize trends in people's media usage from a slightly broader consumer perspective.

Visualizing Media Usage Frequency by Age Group: The Two Major Trends in Media Consumption

Dentsu Inc. Media Innovation Lab conducted a survey on usage patterns across 74 media categories, targeting individuals from their teens to their sixties.

The media categories surveyed were:
"Television/Radio"
"Newspapers/Magazines"
"Internet/Digital"
"SNS/Blogs"
"Video/Audio Streaming"
These are the five categories.

This time, we present charts visualizing usage frequency across each media category. While interesting media usage trends exist across all age groups from teens to those in their 60s, here we focus on the age groups showing particularly distinctive patterns.

First, Figure 1 shows usage frequency among those in their 50s. Each media category is grouped together, and the clusters of frequently used media categories are plotted toward the upper left of the figure.

[Figure 1]

For those in their 50s, "TV/Radio" usage is highest, with commercial broadcasters and NHK accounting for the majority. This is followed by "Internet/Digital" (comprising portals, news sites, etc.) and "Newspapers/Magazines."

The trend is largely similar for those in their 60s, though the proportion of "TV/Radio" is even greater than for those in their 50s. While they have opportunities to engage with various media, "TV/Radio," representing traditional media, appears to form the core of their media life. Those in their 50s and 60s can be seen as age groups maintaining a traditional media consumption style.

However, for those in their 20s to 40s, "Internet/Digital" holds the top spot for media usage, not "TV/Radio." While "TV/Radio" is also frequently used, it does not match the usage of "Internet/Digital." Figure 2 shows a representative usage pattern for those in their 20s.

[Figure 2]

Figures 1 and 2 reveal two major trends in the media Japanese consumers regularly use. Those in their 20s to 40s engage most with internet/digital media, consisting of portals and news sites, while those aged 50 and above interact most with broadcast media.

Only teens rank "SNS/Blogs" as their top media

Focusing now on teens, previously unmentioned, reveals a distinct trend diverging from these two patterns (Figure 3). For teens specifically, the "SNS/Blogs" media category ranks first.

Furthermore, a breakdown of "SNS/Blogs" reveals a high dependence on "SNS posts and blogs by friends/acquaintances" and "SNS posts and blogs by celebrities."

[Figure 3]

It is reasonable to conclude that teens, whose engagement with friends'/acquaintances' and celebrities' SNS posts and blogs is highest—rather than with NHK, commercial broadcasters, news sites, portals, or shopping sites—possess distinct values and media perspectives compared to older age groups. For this demographic specifically, friends'/acquaintances' and celebrities' SNS can be seen as wielding influence comparable to mass media.

Of course, it's entirely possible that this media perspective will change as today's teens become adults and their social roles shift. Regardless, the fact that such distinct trends emerge across age groups regarding which media they rely on as information sources and actually engage with highlights both the complexity of individual media perspectives and the multifaceted nature of the current media landscape.

Also noteworthy is the high affinity between online video services and teens!

Finally, I'd like to touch on "Video and Audio Streaming."

Many may have noticed the large area shown in red for "Video/Audio Streaming" in the earlier Figure 3. A key characteristic of teens is their exceptionally high engagement with "channels by celebrities (like YouTubers)" within this category.

The high affinity between young people and online video, particularly shared video services like YouTube, is often discussed in various contexts. The three charts we've seen today also reveal that younger individuals tend to engage more intensely with online video services.

We will revisit this trend in a future installment. Please stay tuned for the upcoming series.