33+ Startling Screen Time Statistics: US vs. World (2024)

Screens are everywhere, and people already spend an average of 6 hours and 37 minutes looking at them daily.

Do you know what country has the highest daily screen time? The answer will shock you. More on that later.

Discover in-depth statistics on:

• What country has the highest screen time, and which one the lowest
• How much time do we spend watching TV, smartphones, and computers
• How did the pandemic influence screen time in adults and children

Let’s dig in.

Average screen time

Average American screen time

Average screen time by country

How much screen time is too much?

Average screen time by age

Pandemic’s impact on screen time

Average mobile screen time

Average computer screen time

Average social media screen time

Eye-Opening Screen Time Statistics

• Average worldwide screen time is 6 hours and 37 minutes, whereas the average American’s screen time clocks at 6 hours and 59 minutes.
• 85% of Americans go online every day, with 31% of them being online constantly.
• South Africans have the highest screen time at 9 hours and 38 minutes per day, whereas Japan has the lowest at 3 hours and 45 minutes.
• On average, females have higher screen time except in the 35-44 age group, where males overtake them.
• During the pandemic, the average screen time in primary-aged children rose by an additional 1.39 hours per day.
• Indonesia has the highest phone screen time in the world at 5 hours and 39 minutes per day, whereas China has the lowest at 3 hours and 33 minutes.
• On average, Americans check their phones every 4 minutes.
• Nigerians spend the most time on social media, averaging 4 hours and 36 minutes per day, whereas the Japanese only spend 51 minutes.

What’s the Average Screen Time?

• People’s average internet screen time is 6 hours and 37 minutes daily in January 2023.

In July 2022, the average was slightly higher at 6 hours and 49 minutes daily.

Screen time vastly changes in different countries.

Source: DataReportal (links to sources at the bottom)

What’s the average American screen time?

• An average American spends 7 hours and 7 minutes looking at the screen in 2022.

Here’s the table of average screen time in the US:

• Screen time among US people is getting higher on mobile devices and lower on TV.

Here’s a table of US screen time by device, mobile vs. TV:

• 85% of US adults go online every day.

31% are online almost constantly, whereas 48% go online only several times per day.

Here’s how often US adults go online:

Related: Patreon statistics

• On average, US teenagers spend 7.5 hours in front of the screen daily.

Source: CDC

What’s the average screen time by country?

• South Africans led the world with the most screen time per country, clocking at 10 hours and 4 minutes per day in January 2023.

On the other hand, in Japan, an average person spends only 3 hours and 45 minutes of daily screen time.

What country has the highest screen time?

• South Africa holds first place in screen time, clocking at 10 hours and 4 minutes per day.

The Brazilians closely follow it with 9 hours and 32 minutes of daily screen time.

Source: DataReportal

How Much Screen Time is Too Much?

• The recommended screen time worldwide is 2 hours a day for adults and children.

And kids under the age of 2 should have no screen time at all.

Sources: NIH, AAP

What are the most common consequences of too much screen time?

Too much screen time may lead to:

• Lower grades in school
• Reading fewer books
• Less time with family and friends
• Not enough outdoor or physical activity
• Weight issues
• Poorer self-control and emotional stability
• Mood swings
• Poor self-esteem and body image
• Less time learning other ways to relax and have fun

Sources: AACAP, ScienceDirect

• 32% of people state their behavior is influenced by the screen time they get.

However, the highest percentage of people still claim screen time doesn’t affect them.

• 14- to 17-year-olds with more than 7-hour screen time are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety. 

Or have already been treated by a mental health professional.

Source: ScienceDirect

What’s the Average screen Time by Age?

Here’s the average screen time by age and gender in January 2023:

Internet screen time growth

Internet screen time growth over time.

A table of internet screen time growth by quarters:

Read more about average internet usage here.

What age groups spend the most time in front of the screen?

• Youngsters (ages 16-24) spend the most time on the internet in 2022.

An average user in that group clocks 7 hours and 36 minutes per day.

With age, internet time slowly declines.

Source: DataReportal

• Elderly above 60 years are spending more time in front of the screens than 10 years ago.

At the beginning of the century, only 14% of the elderly were internet users. Now there are more than 75%, which shows why they spend more time online.

Also, more than 61% of the elderly are already smartphone users.

Sources: PEW 2, PEW 3, PEW 4

How Did the Pandemic Impact Screen Time?

• During the pandemic, screen time has largely increased in primary-aged children, up to 1.39 hours on average.

Next were adults with a 0.96-hour increase.

Table of screen time increase during pandemic:

• 51% of adults spend more time in front of the screens during the pandemic, while 7% reported a decrease.

• Screen time has increased worldwide during the pandemic by 12 minutes on average.

• Around 76% of people between 16 and 24 increased their mobile usage during the pandemic.

Laptop usage increased by 45%, watching TV by 34%, and tablet time by 22%.

Source: Lenstore

• The share of children that spent more than 6-7 hours in front of the screen increased by 13% during lockdowns.

Table of children’s daily screen time before & during pandemic:

How did the pandemic impact screen time for kids and teenagers?

• Gadget usage among children between the ages of 5 to 10 has increased by 27% during the pandemic.

Overall, the usage of electronics has increased by 23% among children aged 0-17.

Table of gadget usage before & during pandemic by age group:

Average Mobile/Phone Screen Time in the US

• On average, people spend 5 hours and 1 minute using smartphones in January 2023.

Average phone screen time by country

• Indonesians use their mobile phones the most, clocking at 5 hours and 39 minutes daily in January 2023.

Closely followed by Brazilians at 5 hours and 19 minutes.

How often do people check their phones?

• In the US, people check their phones every 4 minutes.

That’s 344 times a day or 2,408 times a week.

Source: Reviews

• Nearly 71% of Americans check their phone in the span of 10 minutes after waking up.

48% of people feel anxiety when their phone’s battery drops below 20%, while 74% of Americans don’t feel well leaving their phones at home.

• 35% of people look at their phones while driving
• 43% of people look at their phones during romantic dates

Source: Reviews

Average Computer Screen Time in the US

• Americans spend 3 hours and 34 minutes daily browsing the web on a computer in 2022.

Here’s the table of how much an average person spend in front of computer screens in the US:

Average worldwide computer screen time

• On average, people worldwide spend 42 minutes per day on computers.

Average Social Media Screen Time in the US

• Americans spend 2 hours and 16 minutes browsing social media daily in 2023.

Worldwide, the number is slightly higher at 2 hours and 31 minutes per day.

Here’s a table of the average social media screen time in the US vs. globally:

• Americans spend the most time checking Facebook.

They check Instagram almost half as much.

Read more on social media addiction here.

Average social media screen time by country

• Nigerians spend the most time on social media apps, whereas the Japanese spend the least in January 2023.

• Females are more engaged in social media than males in all age groups.

Here’s the table comparing female and male social media screen times in January 2023:

• Social media screen time has been slowly going up, increasing by 51.2% from 2013 to 2021.

Here’s the table of social media screen times by year:

How Do Americans Spend Screen Time?

• Daily, an average American spends 2 hours and 13 minutes on social media, 3 hours watching TV, and 4 hours and 9 minutes on phone usage.

Average American daily screen time:

Sources: DataReportal 3, Statista 5

Read more:

• Technology Addiction Statistics
• Video Streaming Services Market Share, Subscribers, Growth
• HBO Max subscriber numbers

Conclusion: Screen Time Statistics

These were the most in-depth screen time statistics. It’s quite fascinating how much time we spend in front of the screen without knowing it.

Screen time also vastly varies between countries and demographics. Even pandemics can negatively impact screen time, especially in children.

What is your daily screen time? Did it increase during the pandemic? What contributes to your screen time the most: work, social media, TV?

Please let us know in the comments.

Sources: DataReportal, DataReportal 2, DataReportal 3, Statista, Statista 2, Statista 3, Statista 4, Statista 5, eMarketer, eMarketer 2, eMarketer 3, Pew, Pew 2, Pew 3, Pew 4, CDC, NIH, AAP, AACAP, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, The Lancet, Lenstore, Reviews