Gen X Malaysians have lived through multiple media shifts, from traditional broadcast and print to social platforms and on-demand video. Today, their media habits reflect balance rather than experimentation, shaped by familiarity, trust, and practical value.
For marketers, Gen X remains a critical audience. They influence household decisions, control significant spending power, and engage with media in ways that directly affect brand consideration and purchase behaviour. Understanding how they consume news, entertainment, and learning content helps brands plan channels and messages that feel relevant rather than disruptive.
In this article, we analyse how Gen X Malaysians consume media today using Vase.ai’s first-party survey data. Rather than listing platforms alone, the focus is on behaviours that change how marketers plan media, shape creative, and influence purchase decisions.
This article highlights five insights only. The full dataset, including all survey questions, platform comparisons, and verbatims, is available inside the gated dashboard.
Here's What We'll Cover:
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About This Study
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🔒 Explore the Full Gen X Media Consumption Dashboard
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1. Facebook Anchors How Gen X Keeps Up With News
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2. YouTube and Facebook Lead Gen X Entertainment Time
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3. YouTube Is Gen X’s Primary Learning Platform
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4. Gen X Discovers New Brands Mainly Through TikTok and Facebook
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5. Gen X Spend the Most Time on Facebook, and That Time Drives Fashion Purchases
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Q&A: Gen X Media Consumption in Malaysia
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🔒 Go Deeper: Validate Your Media Consumption Assumptions
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Related Media Consumption Topics
About This Study
This analysis is based on Vase.ai’s Media Consumption Across Generations in Malaysia study.
- Total sample size: 962 qualified respondents
- Gen X sample: 271 Malaysians aged 45 to 60
- Geography: Malaysia
- Fieldwork period: Responses collected in 6 days
- Methodology: Online survey via Vase.ai’s proprietary panel
- Total survey questions: 24
This article highlights only five insights from the Gen X segment.
The full dataset, including all questions, cross-tabs, and verbatims, lives inside the dashboard.
🔒 Explore the Full Gen X Media Consumption Dashboard
The Media Consumption dashboard gives you direct access to:
- Platform usage: news, entertainment, learning, most-used platform, time spent
- Content engagement: content types, video length, reasons for use
- Advertising and purchase: ad attitudes, purchase influence, product categories, spend
- Trends and discovery: brand discovery channels, festive ad reactions, year-on-year change
Note: The dashboard is best viewed on laptop or desktop.
Inside, you can explore the full list of survey questions and filter the data by generation to focus specifically on Millennials, allowing you to see how each insight was collected and validated.
1. Facebook Anchors How Gen X Keeps Up With News and Current Events
🗣️ We Asked Malaysians Gen X:
“Which platforms do you use most often to keep up with news and current events?”
📊 What the data shows
Among Gen X Malaysians, Facebook is the most used platform for news and current events at 77%. Traditional sources remain relevant, with online news sites at 54%, television at 51%, and radio at 39%. TikTok also appears in the mix at 55%, signalling growing platform overlap.
🧠 Why this matters to marketers
Gen X does not rely on a single source for news. They move fluidly between social platforms and established media. Facebook acts as the central hub where news, commentary, and shared content converge.
For marketers, this means Gen X is exposed to information repeatedly across formats. Messaging credibility and consistency matter more than novelty.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Anchor news related messaging on Facebook where Gen X already engages
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Reinforce messages across trusted channels like online news and TV
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Prioritise clarity and credibility over trend driven execution
2. YouTube and Facebook Lead Gen X Entertainment Time
🗣️ We Asked Malaysians Gen X:
“Which platforms do you use most often for fun and entertainment (videos, shows, memes, etc.)?”
📊 What the data shows
For entertainment, YouTube leads at 75%, followed by Facebook at 71% and TikTok at 64%. Streaming platforms and television continue to play a role, but social and video led platforms dominate Gen X leisure time.
🧠 Why this matters to marketers
Entertainment time for Gen X is not fragmented across dozens of platforms. It concentrates around a few familiar environments.
This indicates that Gen X is open to branded video content, as long as it fits naturally into their viewing behaviour.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Invest in video formats optimised for YouTube and Facebook
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Align creative with relaxed viewing moments, not hard selling
3. YouTube Is Gen X’s Primary Platform for Learning New Skills
🗣️ We Asked Malaysians Gen X:
“Which platforms do you use most often to learn new skills or knowledge?”
📊 What the data shows
When learning new skills or knowledge, 77% of Gen X turn to YouTube. TikTok follows at 53%, while blogs, online articles, and educational TV content each sit at 37%.
🧠 Why this matters to marketers
Gen X learning behaviour appears skewed toward video as the primary format, with written content playing a supporting role rather than the lead.
The fact that YouTube ranks highest, alongside meaningful usage of TikTok, suggests that Gen X prefer to consume learning through visual and video-based formats, even when the intent is practical or informational. Text-based sources still matter, but they are secondary to video in the learning journey
⚡ What marketers can do
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Create educational video content that solves real problems
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Use YouTube as the primary learning channel for Gen X campaigns
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Support video with written content for deeper exploration
4. Gen X Discovers New Brands Mainly Through TikTok and Facebook
🗣️ We Asked Malaysians Gen X:
“Where do you usually come across new brands or products for the first time?”
📊 What the data shows
For first time brand discovery, TikTok leads at 58%, closely followed by Facebook at 56%. YouTube stands at 37%, while search engines account for 31%.
🧠 Why this matters to marketers
Even for Gen X, brand discovery is no longer confined to search or traditional media. Social platforms play a major role in surfacing new products, often through passive exposure rather than active research.
This challenges the assumption that TikTok is only a Gen Z or Millennial discovery channel.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Include TikTok in upper funnel discovery plans, even for older audiences
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Use Facebook to reinforce discovery through repetition and familiarity
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Design content that explains value quickly, without assuming prior interest
5. Gen X Spend the Most Time on Facebook, and That Time Drives Fashion Purchases
🗣️ We Asked Malaysians Gen X:
“Which types of products have you purchased after seeing them on your most-used platform?”
📊 What the data shows
While Gen X uses multiple platforms daily, 51% report spending the most time on Facebook, making it their primary time spent platform. Among Gen X respondents who were exposed to products on their most used platform, 67% say they purchased fashion related items after seeing them on Facebook, showing a clear link between time spent and purchase behaviour.
🧠 Why this matters to marketers
Time spent is a strong indicator of influence. Facebook’s role in Gen X daily routines gives it a unique ability to move consumers from exposure to action, especially for lifestyle and fashion categories.
⚡ What marketers can do
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Treat Facebook as a conversion channel, not just awareness
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Align creative with everyday practical needs
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Reduce friction between discovery and purchase
Quick Q&A: Gen X's Media Habits at a Glance
🔒 Go Deeper: Validate Your Media Assumptions
Want to explore every question and chart in detail?
This dashboard is based on Vase.ai’s survey of 962 Malaysians, including 271 Gen X, collected in 6 days. You can review the full question set and filter the data to focus specifically on Gen X media behaviour.
Note: The dashboard is best viewed on laptop or desktop.
Inside, you can explore the full list of survey questions and filter the data by generation to focus specifically on Gen X, allowing you to see how each insight was collected and validated.
Related Media Consumption Topics
