Tech Ownership Increases; Social Media Preferences Shift - Additional Findings from The Infinite Dial UK 2025

Major findings on UK digital media consumption from The Infinite Dial UK 2025 were presented last week at The Podcast Show in London. Today, presenters Gabriel Soto, Edison Research’s Senior Director of Research, and Ollie Chadwick, AdsWizz’s Regional Director, UK & Ireland, shared additional insights from the study in a webinar. The study is sponsored by SiriusXM Media and AdsWizz and is available for download and viewing here.

Key findings include:

Tech Ownership

• Smart watch ownership has more than doubled in four years. Today, 23% of those in the UK ages 16 and older own a smart watch
• Ownership of each smart speaker brand has doubled or nearly doubled in the last four years: 37% of those in the UK ages 16+ own an Amazon Alexa, up from 19% in 2021, 16% own a Google Home, up from 7% in 2021, and 5% own an Apple HomePod, up from 2% in 2021. In total, 45% of those in the UK ages 16+ own at least one smart speaker
• 51% of those in the UK ages 16+ (25 million people) own wireless headphones, almost double the number from 2021
• Physical radio ownership has declined; 25% of those in the UK ages 16+ do not own a traditional radio in their household, compared with 22% in 2021

Social Media

• Reach for the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X is higher in the UK than it is in the U.S. This is especially true for X (formerly known as Twitter), which reaches 35% of those ages 16+ in the UK compared to 21% in the U.S.
• The last four years have seen a shift regarding which social media platforms are used most often. Facebook, Snapchat, and X have declined as platforms used most often while Instagram and TikTok have grown. Instagram is now used most often by 23% of the 16+ social media user population, up from 9% in 2021. TikTok is now used most often by 11% of the 16+ social media user population, up from 7% in 2021

Online Audio

• A larger percentage of the UK population has listened to online audio in the last week than the U.S.; 74% of those ages 16+ in the UK (36 million people) listened to online audio in the last week compared with 72% of those in the U.S. This is an increase of eight percentage points for the UK, up from 66% in 2021

Podcast Listening

• 39% of those in the UK ages 16+ (19 million people) consume podcasts each week
• 6% of those in the UK ages 16+ say they have watched a podcast but did not listening to one in the last week
• The UK is closing the gap with the U.S. when it comes to weekly podcast consumers, now only two points behind; 39% of those in the UK ages 16+ have consumed a podcast in the last week compared with 41% of those in the U.S. In 2021, the gap was four points, with 25% of those in the UK age 16+ being weekly podcast consumers compared with 29% of those in the U.S.

Other findings

• 32% of those in the UK ages 16+ report playing games on their mobile device in the last week, while 22% report playing on a gaming console or system
• 18 million people in the UK ages 16+ listened to an audiobook in the last year

About the study: The Infinite Dial UK mirrors Edison Research’s The Infinite Dial, which is the longest-running survey of digital media consumer behavior in America and has been undertaken annually since 1998. The report covers a wide range of online digital media topics, including online audio listening, podcast consumption, device ownership, in-car audio habits, social media usage, and more. This study is designed to allow for direct comparisons among the UK, U.S., Australia, and New Zealand markets.