Between 2015 And 2016, YouTube Watch Time Tripled Among Users 55 And Older

Over its 11-year lifespan, YouTube has been thought of as an entertainment hub that primarily entertains a younger audience. That may still be true, but the team at Think With Google wants us to know that older folks are watching videos, too. The data crunchers from Mountain View have shared a few sets of stats in an effort to dispel common “myths” about YouTube. One of their findings concerns viewers in the 55 and older demographic, whose collective watch time tripled between 2015 and 2016.

Think With Google’s myth-busting effort cites data from Nielsen that shows, in addition to the aforementioned watch time boost, a general upward trend among YouTube’s older audience. Between 2015 and 2016, the time spent on YouTube by the 55+ crowd grew 80% faster than that of adults in general. Also, according to a comScore study cited by Think With Google, 95% of adults ages 35 and up visit YouTube each month.

Think With Google’s exercise doesn’t mention the volume of elders who are checking out YouTube, so as always, you should be wary of reading too far into any quoted percentages higher than 100% (“Tripled,” for the mathematically challenged, represents a 200% increase.) Even so, there is clearly a growing number of elders who are checking out YouTube videos — and not just the ones who are asked to register their reactions.

Beyond the data about age demographics, Think With Google’s recent post also shares information about the gender of its users, how they watch on their devices of choice, what sort of content interests them, and more. It’s all available through these two links.