When it comes to accessing media, Facebook is becoming as popular as TV among most age groups. In fact, most people are more likely to log in to Facebook during office hours than they are to watch TV between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

A study carried out by Frank N. Magid Associates and reported by eMarketer asked a range of consumers how they consume media throughout the day. More consumers who were questioned say they use Facebook than watch TV during office hours. This was found to be true for every age group between the ages of 15 and 46. The same percentage of respondents from the youngest group, those aged between 8 and 14 (or iGen), log in to Facebook and watch TV — 16 percent. Kids under the age of 13 are not allowed to use Facebook, but millions are still using the social network.

Those aged between 47 and 65 are more likely to watch TV (35 percent) than use Facebook during office hours, the only group to go against the overall trend. However, the social network is still being used by 25 percent of respondents in that age group during office hours.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those aged between 15 and 34 are most likely to use Facebook during office hours. Around 30 percent of those aged between 15 and 17 use Facebook during the work day, compared with the 24 percent who watch TV. Almost half (44 percent) of adult millennials (those aged between 18 and 34) use Facebook during office hours, compared with the 32 percent who watch TV.

This data may play into the hands of marketers, who can determine the best media outlet in which to target their ideal audience by displaying ads on Facebook or TV when that age group is most likely to be using that specific medium. As the evening and primetime hours set in, most people pay more attention to TV, but some interesting data about the way in which each age group uses Facebook vs. TV during those hours has emerged from this study.

While 59 percent of those in the iGen group watch TV between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., this is the time of day when they are most likely to check Facebook as 41 percent do so during these hours. Around 40 percent of those aged 15 to 34 use Facebook during the evening hours, but a higher percentage (between 43 percent and 51 percent) watch TV during this time.

Between 27 percent and 28 percent of those aged between 35 and 46 (Gen X) use Facebook between the hours of 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. but this figure is dwarfed by the percentage of those who watch TV during this time. From
5 p.m. to 8 p.m., 46 percent of Gen Xers watch TV, but this figure jumps to 60 percent between 8 p.m. and
11 p.m.