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May 1st, 2024
Average Screen Time Statistics (2024)
By GilPress
A large section of people globally works using their laptops or smartphones, which has significantly increased the screen time presence of most adults. It was reported that an average American has a screen time of 7 hours and 4 minutes per day. While the global average screen time is 6 hours and 58 minutes every day. So have you ever wondered how much time you spend on screen on a daily basis for work, entertainment, news, etc? In this article, we are going to take an in-depth look at the average screen time for adults by region, generation, activity, and more. So, let’s begin.
Key Statistics
- Every day an Average American spends around 7 hours and 4 minutes in front of their screen.
- People worldwide spend about 6 hours and 58 minutes on their screens on a daily basis.
- Since 2013, there has been an increase in screen time by 50 minutes per day.
- Gen Z (people born between 1996 and 2010) spend about 9 hours of screen time every day.
- There was a peak in the average daily screen time by 7.7 hours among people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The top three popular sites that are consumed by Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers are Amazon, Facebook, and Google.
- On Average, people spend about 44% of their waking hours looking at a screen.
- Professionals have recommended less than 2 hours of screen time a day.
- 49% of babies between the ages of 0 to 2 tend to have interacted with smartphones at some point.
Average Screen Time Spend by Adults
- The Average screen time spent by adults ranges as they grow older. For example, young adults have phone usage up by 60 to 80% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, Gen Z (people born between 1996 to 2010) tend to spend 7+ hours on their screens on a regular basis bouncing between popular social media apps such as TikTok browsing videos for hours streaming online content on OTT platforms such as Netflix or Prime Video.
- Millennials on the other hand spend an average of 205 minutes on screen per day. While the generation before Millennials which are Gen X and Boomers have an average screen time of 169 minutes and 136 minutes.
- Today, it’s for the younger generation to spend a day without their smartphones. Apparently, on average 42% of millennials aren’t likely to go on for more than 5 hours without taking a sneak peek at their social media accounts. Meanwhile, younger millennials or young adults are likely to check their smartphones about 150 times a day.
- It’s no surprise that Gen Z tops the list when it comes to the highest screen time spenders. Around 76% of Gen Z users have claimed they spend way too much time looking at their screens. Followed by the Millennials generation with 67%, followed by Gen X with 66%, and Baby Boomers with 51%.
Distribution of Screen Time by Generation
Talking about the distribution of screen time by generation it’s no surprise that Gen Z (people born between 1996 and 2010) have the highest average screen time with 7 hours 18 mins. Followed by Millennials (people born between 1981 to 1995) who have the second highest average screen time by 6 hours 42 mins.
| Generation | Average Screen Time Spend |
| Gen Z | 7 hours 18 mins |
| Millennials | 6 hours 42 mins |
| Gen X | 6 hours |
| Baby Boomers | 2 hours 54 mins |
The Most popular internet activities that take majority of the screen time among different generations are as follows:
- For Baby Boomers, it’s online searches on Google and banking.
- For Gen X it’s social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, etc, and online searches.
- For Millennials it’s accessing social media platforms and streaming online content such as Movies, web series, etc.
Average Screen Time By Region
Based on recent records South Africa has the highest average screen time consumption with 10 hours 46 mins every day. Followed by the Philippines which records the second highest screen time with 10 hours and 27 minutes of screen time consumption.
| Country | Average Screen Time |
| South Africa | 10 hours 46 mins |
| Philippines | 10 hours 27 mins |
| Brazil | 10 hours 19 mins |
| Colombia | 10 hours 3 mins |
| Argentina | 9 hours 38 mins |
| Malaysia | 9 hours 10 mins |
| Thailand | 9 hours 6 mins |
| Mexico | 8 hours 55 mins |
| Indonesia | 8 hours 37 mins |
| UAE | 8 hours 36 mins |
| Taiwan | 8 hours 7 mins |
| Saudi Arabia | 8 hours 5 mins |
Average Daily Mobile Screen Time
Even though South Africa tops the chart for the highest average screen time by region it isn’t the country with the highest Mobile screen time. Instead, the Philippines has recorded the highest average mobile screen time with 5 hours 47 mins. Followed by Thailand which is second in the list at 5 hours 28 mins. Here is a table showcasing the top 5 countries with the highest average mobile screen time globally.
| Country | Average Mobile Screen Time |
| Philippines | 5 hours 47 mins |
| Thailand | 5 hours 28 mins |
| Brazil | 5 hours 25 mins |
| South Africa | 5 hours 9 mins |
| Colombia | 5 hours 9 mins |
Global screen time usage statistics
The average screen time spent by users worldwide in 2023 is 6 hours and 37 minutes across different platforms and devices. Below we have mentioned a table showcasing the average screen time spent by users between the span of 10 years from 2013 to 2023. The following data was taken from Q3 of each year.
| Year | Average Screen Time Usage |
| 2023 | 6 hrs 37 mins |
| 2022 | 6 hrs 28 mins |
| 2021 | 6 hrs 58 mins |
| 2020 | 6 hrs 54 mins |
| 2019 | 6 hrs 38 mins |
| 2018 | 6 hrs 48 mins |
| 2017 | 6 hrs 46 mins |
| 2016 | 6 hrs 29 mins |
| 2015 | 6hrs 20mins |
| 2014 | 6 hrs 23 mins |
| 2013 | 6 hrs 19 mins |
Distribution of Screen Time Activity By Americans
There are a variety of reasons that contribute to the overdoing of screen time by users. One of the top activities that consume the majority of screen time by Americans is watching television. About 34% of the screen time is consumed by TV, followed by Video Games which take up 16% of the screen time. Below we have mentioned a detailed table showcasing the total distribution of screen time among Americans:
| Activity | Total screen time spend |
| TV | 34% |
| Video Games | 16% |
| Movies | 14% |
| Online Videos | 12% |
| Social Media | 9% |
| Other | 9% |
| E-books | 6% |
Mobile Internet Traffic Over Time
A large number of people globally spend their time accessing the internet. Over the years there has been a massive spike in mobile internet traffic over time. Back in 2013, the share of internet traffic was only 17.02% but fast forward to 2023, the share of Internet traffic has taken a massive turn to 60.28%. Overall, the major growth in internet traffic took place in 2017.
| Year | Share of Internet Traffic |
| 2013 | 17.02% |
| 2014 | 28.97% |
| 2015 | 37.24% |
| 2016 | 45.91% |
| 2017 | 54.09% |
| 2018 | 53.01% |
| 2019 | 52.26% |
| 2020 | 53.07% |
| 2021 | 56.53% |
| 2022 | 59.40% |
| 2023 | 60.28% |
- People spend 45.8 minutes on average operating TikTok daily
Today, TikTok is one of the most widespread and highly utilized social media platforms globally where people tend to spend hours and hours watching fun and entertaining content. The day-to-day average screen time spent by people on TikTok is 45.8 min. The second spot is snatched by a popular video-streaming platform YouTube with 45.6 mins daily screen time.
| Social Media Apps | Average daily screen time |
| TikTok | 45.8 mins |
| YouTube | 45.6 mins |
| 34.8 mins | |
| Snapchat | 30.4 mins |
| 30.1 mins | |
| 30.1 mins | |
| 23.8 mins |
Impact Of Screen Time
- According to a survey conducted using 2000+ United States adults claimed that less than half the total amount of the time spent on screens is considered to be productive. While 41% of the audience claimed that they find it difficult to manage their screen time.
- 21% of adults even find themselves guilty regarding how much time their children spend on screen.
- Excessive screen time can often lead to a large number of knock-on effects on people, especially children.
Let’s take a look at some of the drawbacks related to excessive screen time:
- Sleep deprivation: Too much consumption of screen and blue light can interfere with melatonin production and cause a disruption in the circadian rhythm in the body.
- Obesity: Numerous reports suggest that there is a solid association between screen time and obesity among children who fall under the age group of 5 to 17. Such instances are most likely to occur due to the sedentary nature of accessing the screen.
- Delayed learning: Children who tend to watch a lot of television have the potential to experience various difficulties in understanding or picking up the language.
- Type 2 Diabetes: Children who tend to spend more than 3 hours on the screen per day in the United Kingdom are more likely to show resistance to insulin.
Limiting social media usage in the wider population with maximum usage to 30 minutes a day can be linked with reduced depression and can be helpful in improving overall well-being.
Conclusion
The Internet has had a significant impact on the growth of screen time among adults and teens around the world. Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic the digital world has definitely transformed the working spaces. On average an American spends about 7+ hours on their screen, while globally the average screen time among the people is 6 hours and 58 minutes on a daily basis accessing social media, streaming apps, performing searches, and more.
Last updated on December 27th, 2023.
