Smartphone usage has fallen amongst 16 to 24-year olds for the first time, according to a report from market researcher Kantar TNS.

Mobile device owners in the age group now spend an average of 3.8 hours on their phones each day, down from 3.9 hours last year.

Interestingly, 34 per cent of 16 to 24-year olds around the world believe they use their mobile phones too much. Despite this, 94 per cent of people within the age group have a smartphone, with 40 per cent of those admitting they use multiple devices at the same time while online.

“Thanks to the growing number of social media channels and a consumer demand for everything on-the-go, I don’t see this decline as reflective of a nation looking to move away from mobile phones,” commented Josh Krichefski, CEO at MediaCom UK. “Smartphone penetration is now at 85 per cent of all adults, and video – which companies like Facebook and Twitter have invested in massively of late – is now most viewed on a mobile; video consumption has more than trebled in the last five years and it’s only going to keep increasing.

“Young people now have greater autonomy over how and when they watch TV, and so one reason for the decline in smartphone usage could be the popularity of ‘multiscreen’ services, allowing the viewer to pick up exactly where they left off when watching content between devices – Sky Q is a good example of this. The smartphone, though, isn’t going away anytime soon.”

The infographic below takes a closer look at these findings, the use of data, social media, and more.

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