The Norwegian Media Barometer is a series of publications based on Statistics Norway's annual survey on the use of media. A representative sample of the population aged 9 years and older responds to questions about their access to and use of various media each year. Interviews were conducted with 3 340 people in 2024, resulting in a response rate of 55.9 percent.
Since 1991, the population’s media habits have changed in accordance with societal changes overall. Prior to 2008, newspapers, linear TV, and radio held the primary position as key media outlets. However, in the last 15 years, mobile phones and the internet have gradually become the most central tools in daily media consumption. The 2024 Media Usage Survey shows an increasingly digitalized media usage. Daily communication, as well as consumption of news and entertainment, is increasingly taking place on digital platforms, while the use of traditional media declines.
Nearly everyone in the population aged 9 and older, has access to a mobile phone in 2024, and the time spent on mobile phones and the internet continues to rise. People spend on average 4 hours and 35 minutes online on a daily basis, with variations between age groups. Those aged 16–19 spend the most time online, with an average of 7,5 hours per day. This age group is also the most active on social media. 80 percent of the population use social media on a daily basis, spending an average of 1 hour and 53 minutes on various platforms. Women are more active on social media than men, particularly young women.
Social media has also become an important source of news. In 2024, 57 percent of the population gets their daily news from social media. Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are the most common platforms for news consumption among the general population, while younger individuals increasingly turn to TikTok as a news provider.
The share of the population reading printed newspapers has been in steady decline over time. Only 15 percent reads a printed newspaper on an average day in 2024. However, a larger proportion read news from online newspapers, with 58 percent, although there has been a slight decline in online newspaper reading compared to previous years as well.
46 percent of the population watch linear TV on an average day, including both traditional linear TV and linear online TV. The older age groups in the population are the most frequent consumers of linear TV and printed newspapers. A similar trend is observed in radio listening. 43 percent of the population listens to the radio on a daily basis, and compared to 2023, radio listening has declined between all age groups in 2024.
This does not mean that people consume less media overall. On the contrary, media consumption has increased in 2024, but through different channels and formats. While traditional radio listening is declining, there is an increased interest in other audio media, such as music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Similarly, although fewer people watch linear TV, the number of people subscribing to streaming platforms for films, series, and other video content has never been higher. In 2024, 9 out of 10 people have access to at least one streaming service, such as Netflix, TV2 Play, or MAX.
Those who read magazines, weekly publications, or comics in 2024 do so almost as frequently online as in print. The exception to the trend of media digitalization, as previously mentioned, is books. Historically, reading printed books daily has been one of the most stable media habits among the population, and in 2024, significantly more people still prefer physical books over digital versions.