South Korean Teens Spend More Than Three Hours a Day Watching Online Video (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean teenagers are spending more than three hours a day watching online video content, with short-form clips rapidly overtaking longer videos as their dominant mode of media consumption, according to a new national survey.
The findings were released on Wednesday by the Korea Press Foundation in its 2025 survey of teen media use, based on research conducted by Gallup Korea between June and early September last year. The study polled 2,674 students ranging from fourth-grade elementary school to third-year high school.
More than 95 percent of respondents said they had used an online video platform in the previous week, with average daily viewing time reaching 200.6 minutes, or roughly 3.3 hours. Usage was highest among middle school students, who averaged nearly four hours a day, followed by high school students, while elementary school students logged comparatively less time.
Among those who reported using video platforms, average daily viewing rose to more than 210 minutes. Games were the most-watched category, followed by music and performance content, and food-related videos.
In terms of platforms, Instagram Reels emerged as the most frequently used service, surpassing YouTube, a shift that researchers said highlights a broader transition from long-form to short-form content among young viewers.
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Nearly half of respondents said they watched short-form videos every day, a dramatic increase from the previous survey in 2022, when daily viewing was virtually nonexistent. About 30 percent of teens also reported having uploaded videos they filmed themselves.
As online and mobile video consumption surged, traditional television viewing continued to decline. Fewer than 85 percent of respondents said they had watched TV in the previous week, a drop of more than 12 percentage points from 2022.
Messaging and social media habits also reflected generational shifts. KakaoTalk and Instagram direct messages were used at nearly identical rates overall, though younger students favored KakaoTalk while older teens overwhelmingly preferred Instagram’s messaging service. Instagram was by far the most widely used social media platform among teenagers, with nearly nine in ten reporting active use.
The report concluded that South Korean teens’ media habits are increasingly centered on mobile-first, short-form video platforms, marking a structural shift in how younger audiences consume content and communicate online.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)