• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 1, 2012

According to Nielsen, 12-17 year olds represent an outsized share of game console usage, more than triple that of their share of TV or DVR usage, and watching or playing just about anywhere in the home, including basements and garages. 52% of their time spent with a gaming console happens in either non-traditional spaces or bedrooms while 48% is spent gaming in more social environs, such as a living or family room.

When it comes to television, the 12-17 demographic is proving that times may change, says the report, but teens still spend nearly the same amount of time viewing TV in bedrooms as they do in family rooms. Overall, teenagers spent 47% of their total TV viewing in their bedrooms versus 48% in family rooms.

In contrast, the 35-64 demographic spends 62% of their total TV in a shared space and only 31% of their time in the bedroom. Those 65 and older spend the largest chunk of their viewing time (69%) in a family or living room.

And, according to Nielsen’s global survey of multi-screen media usage, watching video content on computers has become just as common as watching video content on television among online consumers. 84% of Internet respondents in 56 countries reported watching video content at home on a computer, and 83% on a TV, at least once a month. By contrast, in 2010, more online consumers reported watching video content on TV (90%) than on a computer (86%) in a month-long period.

While the in-home TV and computer are still the most popular devices to watch video content, usage and growth in online and mobile technologies is making a sustained impact, says the report. 74% of global respondents report watching video via the Internet (on any device), and 56% of global online consumers say they watch video on a mobile phone at least once a month, and 28% at least once a day.

 Mobile video is particularly prominent in Asia-Pacific and Middle East/African regions, where 74 and 72% of online consumers, respectively, report watching video on mobile phones at least once a month, and almost 40% say they do so at least once a day. While mobile video is currently less prominent in North America than in other parts of the world, it is seeing the highest growth rates in mobile phone video consumption. 38% of North American respondents say they watch mobile video once a month, up eight points compared to the 2010 reported results.

Dounia Turrill, SVP, Client Insights, Nielsen concludes that “... the convenience of mobile connectivity has revolutionized how people are engaging with digital content...  in emerging markets... many consumers leapfrog home Internet altogether in favor of the all-in-one smartphone... ”

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