Key stat: 85% of adults in Great Britain ages 16–24 watch short-form video at least weekly, compared with just 45% of those 55+, a 40-point gap, according to October 2025 data from YouGov.

Beyond the chart:

• The weekly habit runs deeper than the chart shows. Some 69% of GB adults ages 16–24 watch short-form video daily, not just weekly, per YouGov.
• Meanwhile, marketers have already aligned their spending with those eyeballs. Some 80.7% of US marketers rate short-form video as their most effective video ad format, ahead of CTV (72%) and mid-roll ads (68.4%), per Smartly.

Use this chart: Drop this in your next video strategy or media planning meeting to show how format preferences split by age in the UK. Use the generational gap to benchmark your content mix, and make the case for where short-form investment belongs on your cross-generational media plan.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• UK, France, and Germany Time Spent With Media 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• YouTube for Social Media Teams 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from a March 2026 YouGov analysis as cited in company blog. 2,035 adults in Great Britain ages 16+ were surveyed online during October 20-27, 2025. Results were weighted by age, gender, education, region, and social grade to be representative of the national population, reflecting the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.