From 2013-2017, adults in the 65 and older demographic spent the most time watching television, about 4.3 hours, while 25-34 year olds watched the least amount per day, just over 2 hours. Employed individuals, including full- and part-time, watched about 2.2 hours worth of television, while unemployed individuals watched about an hour and a half more of television, around 3.8 hours. Of individuals 65 and older, 80.2% were not employed, and this group watched about 4.5 hours of television per day. Retirement is the most likely reason for these higher numbers, as those in the younger demographic are entering the workforce and starting families, requiring them to divert and focus their time and attention away from television. Given the 30% of local TV news broadcast time devoted to advertising, this results in 2 million TV commercials seen by the average person by age 65. An average child in the US will see 20,000 30-second TV commercials per year. The time spent watching commercials is reduced when watching recorded TV. It has even been surmised that due to media multitasking, TV commercials are largely ignored.
