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How long do you spend, every day, glued to the glowing screen of your computer or smartphone? If the latest global research is to be believed, that number is around 6 hours and 35 minutes daily – although, in reality, it could be a lot more.
Another question – how long do your children spend on their screens? According to the data, children ages 8-12 spend 4-6 hours a day using screens, while teens spend up to 9 hours – a statistic which, the latest data and research also suggest, could be having adverse effects on their mental and physical health.
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So below, we’re unpacking all the screen time statistics you need to know about in 2024. We’ll explore how much time the average person (globally, and segmented by country) spends on their phone – and how screen time has evolved over the last decade.
We’re also breaking down what adults and children are using their screen time to do, and offering our top tips for helping you and your family stay safe online. We’ll look at what the latest research says about screen time’s impact on young people, and help you answer that burning question – how much screen time is too much?
Read on for our top screen time statistics in 2024.
Screen time refers to the amount of time a person spends interacting with electronic screens, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs, and other digital devices.
Screen time could include using apps – such as games or social media – streaming video content, browsing the internet, working, studying, or engaging in any screen-intensive activities. In that sense, screen time can be both productive and recreational – and, used for good, screens can contribute positively to work, learning, and communication.
So, while research (much of which we’ll explore below) has pointed to the adverse effects of prolonged screen time, it’s important not to paint screen time as inherently wrong, or with too broad a brush. Striking a balance between screen time and time away from devices is the healthiest approach.
The average 2024 screen time for users around the world aged 16 to 64 – across different platforms and devices – is 6 hours 35 minutes daily, although, as we’ll see below, not all countries use screen time equally, or for the same things.
The figures for the average internet-connected screen time also show that screen time has decreased (-2 minutes) between 2024 and 2023 but is up by 12 minutes since 2014.
| 2014 | 6 hours 23 minutes |
| 2015 | 6 hours 20 minutes |
| 2016 | 6 hours 29 minutes |
| 2017 | 6 hours 46 minutes |
| 2018 | 6 hours 48 minutes |
| 2019 | 6 hours 38 minutes |
| 2020 | 6 hours 54 minutes |
| 2021 | 6 hours 58 minutes |
| 2022 | 6 hours 28 minutes |
| 2023 | 6 hours 37 minutes |
| 2024 | 6 hours 35 minutes |
Interestingly, even the lockdown-filled pandemic years of 2021 to 2022 don’t display a staggering spike in global screen time usage; although between 2019 and 2021, mobile screen time jumped from 2 hours 56 minutes to 4 hours 12 minutes – a rise of 30 per cent, which suggests, perhaps, the influence of Covid-19 on our increasing reliance on smartphones.
Instead, history paints a picture of a slow, steady, yet inexorable increase in the amount of time the world spends on its screens – despite a decrease over the last couple of years. But again, this rule isn’t a global one – and the rate of change differs widely across countries.
Between 2023 and 2024, internet users in 18 countries saw an increase in their average screen time, with Israel leading the way:
Between 2023 and 2024, the average screen time trends for most countries were going in one direction – down.
Poland saw the biggest decrease in screen time, at -33 minutes, followed by Romania (-32 minutes).
The complete list of countries that saw their screen time drop between 2023 and 2024 includes:
Adults, needless to say, spend a lot of time on their phones – wherever they’re using them. But for children, these screen-time totals are thought to be even more inflated – especially among certain age groups.
Ofcom data shows that 74 per cent of UK children aged 7-18 have access to a tablet, while 68 per cent own a games console, and a further 9 per cent have access to one.
According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average daily screen time hours per age group in the US are:
These figures don’t include the use of screens for educational purposes, either, which suggests the need for a more nuanced understanding of screen time; to get to grips not only with how much time people spend online, but how they’re actually using that time, too.
That’s why researchers from the University of Queensland’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in Australia – which sampled more than 400,000 children from around the world, across a range of separate studies – split screen time into two brackets:
We’ll unpack the study – and its findings on children’s screen time – below. All this begs the question, though – what is the average person spending their screen time on?
What are people doing when they spend all those hours on their screens?
Much of the time, it’s watching their favourite movies and TV shows online, with 77.1 per cent of people using the internet to access streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime (Data Reportal).
Around the world, the biggest TV users (that is, the country where people are spending the longest watching TV content) are:
However, there’s another factor hogging the hours the world spends on its screens – social media.
Brits spend 1 hour 52 minutes daily on social media in the UK – almost a third (30.4 per cent) of their overall screen time. Percentage-wise, this is on a par with the 32.6 per cent of screen time Americans spend surfing social media, at 2 hours 21 minutes daily.
However, both countries’ social media usage pales in comparison to the world’s chief social media addicts – Indonesians.
According to Data Reportal, people in Indonesia spend 44.1 per cent of their screen time on social platforms, while 14 other countries, including Mexico (42.6 per cent), Saudi Arabia (41 per cent), and Colombia (40.4 per cent), are all above the global average of 35.4 per cent.
For young people, research into US teenagers from Common Sense Media indicates they spend most of their screen time watching TV or videos (3 hours 16 minutes). Hot on its heels are:
In another eye-opening piece of data, young people’s screen time is also influenced by how much their families earn. US teens from lower-income households (< $35,000 per year) spend an average of 9 hours 19 minutes every day on their screens. This is a staggering 2 hours 3 minutes more daily than what American teens from higher-income households ($100,000+ per year) spend on their devices (Common Sense Media).
According to Statista, South Africa spends the most time online daily. As of the final quarter of 2023, people here had an average daily screen time of 9 hours and 32 minutes.
Brazil is the runner-up, with its residents averaging 9 hours and 14 minutes daily on their devices, while Japan is the least screen-addicted country in the world. Its people, on average, spend less than five hours daily plugged into the internet.
When it comes to computer-based screen time, Russians take the lead – averaging 4 hours 22 minutes daily (Data Reportal).
In second place? South Africa, following closely with an average daily desktop screen time of 4 hours 10 minutes. In third is Argentina’s 4 hours 1 minute, while Portugal (3 hours 55 minutes) and Brazil (3 hours 50 minutes) round out the top five. The other biggest computer-based screen time countries are:
6. Colombia (3 hours 49 minutes)
7. Bulgaria (3 hours 45 minutes)
8. Israel (3 hours 39 minutes)
9. Malaysia (3 hours 38 minutes)
10. Chile (3 hours 37 minutes)
As for computer screen users in the UK, we spend, on average, 3 hours 8 minutes daily on our desktops – slightly more than what we spend on our mobiles. This places the UK 24th in the world for computer screen time.
The same data suggests Americans are more screen-hungry, with an average desktop screen time of 3 hours 28 minutes, placing the USA 12th in the world on this metric.
At the other end of the scale, China has the lowest desktop-based screen time, with an average of 1 hour 58 minutes daily. Japan (2 hours 4 minutes) is the second-lowest, with South Korea’s 2 hours 32 minutes hot on its heels. Thailand, Indonesia, India, and France are also low.
Overall, the average global screen user spends 2 hours 47 minutes on their computers daily in 2024, down 4 minutes from 2023’s average of 2 hours 51 minutes.
The biggest mobile screen users in the world, says Data Reportal, are people from Ghana, with a 2024 average of 5 hours 36 minutes daily. People from the Philippines, with 5 hours 25 minutes daily, are a close second. Brazilians are again well represented near the ranking’s summit, with an average of 5 hours 24 minutes of mobile screen time every day.
Here’s how the list of the rest of the top 10 mobile screen-using countries looks:
4. South Africa (5 hours 21 minutes)
5. Thailand (5 hours 2 minutes)
6. Chile (4 hours 55 minutes)
7. Kenya (4 hours 50 minutes)
8. Colombia (4 hours 48 minutes)
9. Argentina (4 hours 43 minutes)
10. Indonesia (4 hours 42 minutes)
Mobile users in the UK spend 3 hours daily on our handheld devices – 8 minutes less than the average desktop computer-based screen time – to rank 39th.
Again, Americans’ vast appetite for screen time is reflected in the data: mobile users in the US spent an average of 3 hours 45 minutes on their devices in 2024, ranking 23rd in the world.
How about the countries with the lowest mobile screen time in the world? Japan takes the plaudits, with 2 hours daily. Denmark (2 hours 19 minutes) and France (2 hours 32 minutes) are also low, while the next lowest – Belgium, Austria, and Germany – reflect Europe’s continent-wide trend towards less screen time.
Overall, the average global screen user spends 3 hours 49 minutes on their mobiles in 2024. This represents a small increase of 3 minutes from 2023’s total.
While we all love the odd Netflix binge or catching up on the latest headlines online, high screen time isn’t without its risks. These include:
Disruption to sleeping patterns: staying up late on social media, or to watch TV, can get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Plus, the blue light screens emit can interfere with the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep.
Eye strain and discomfort: prolonged screen time can lead to dry eyes, headaches, and blurred vision – all symptoms of digital eye strain or, more commonly, “computer vision”.
Obesity: more time on screens generally means a more sedentary lifestyle. This is a risk factor for obesity and other related health issues, including poor posture and musculoskeletal problems leading to neck, shoulder, and back pain.
Mental health issues: excessive screen time – particularly that linked to social media – can contribute to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
Academic and work performance: too much screen time can distract from professional, academic, or even personal responsibilities – leading to decreased concentration, performance, and productivity.
There’s one group particularly affected by high screen time – and that’s children. Excessive screen time has long been linked with negative effects on a child’s developing brain – including their attention span, memory, ability to concentrate – and how they behave.
In one EdWeek Research Centre survey in January and February 2022 of almost 900 K-12 educators in the US, 80 per cent reported that increased screen time worsened children’s behaviour. Fourteen per cent said it wasn’t affected, while a mere 6 per cent reported screen time makes children’s behaviour “a little better”.
What’s more, data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study – the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the US – has linked screen time with insidious effects on children’s growing brains.
The study found that children who spent more than 2 hours a day on screens scored lower on thinking and language tests. Worse still? Kids with more than 7 hours of daily screen time experienced a thinning of the cortex – the part of the brain responsible for reasoning and critical thinking.
Yet despite the risks of high screen time, and its effects on how young people behave, parents are still giving them plenty. Data from Insider Intelligence suggests most US parents (51 per cent) give their children three or more hours of screen time a day. Conversely, just 15 per cent of parents limit their children to a maximum of an hour on their devices.
In research from the UK, a survey by Survation (on behalf of BBC Children’s and Education) from May 2023 found that, of 2,010 participating parents:
There’s a big variable here, of course – and that’s what those children are doing, or watching, online. This was a big concern for the parents surveyed, whose concerns stemmed from:
Similarly, the University of Queensland study we mentioned earlier highlighted gaming as a form of screen time with potentially serious implications.
It found excessive recreational computer use led to an:
As for TV usage, the Australian research also found boys who watched TV for more than 2 hours were 67 per cent more likely to suffer physical or mental consequences, with girls, at 71 per cent, at even higher risk.
By and large, however, the BBC-backed Survation survey painted a more nuanced, optimistic picture of how UK parents feel about their children’s screen time, in that:
So, while the risks and issues a high screen time causes – particularly for children – are prevalent, they can be mitigated by a focus on educational content from trusted sources.
How much screen time is too much? Here, experts differ.
The findings from the aforementioned study by the University of Queensland found 2 hours is the optimal limit for screen time for children – and any more is too much.
Beyond this, the study showed, children become at risk of a range of mental health consequences, including irritability, difficulty sleeping, feeling low, and nervousness, as well as a number of physical issues such as backache, dizziness, and headaches.
Dr Samina Yousef – a paediatrician at OSF HealthCare – agrees, while also setting age-specific screen time limits: one hour for children aged two to five, and zero hours for anyone younger. Other research, from The American Academy of Pediatrics, concurs – with the caveat that, from age five upwards, there’s no specific number of screen time hours that applies.
Instead, claims Jacob Holzman – a clinical child and adolescent psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado – it’s up for families to determine what they feel is right for the unique needs and circumstances of their child. This is backed by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), which states a “one-size-fits-all approach is not based in evidence” (cited in Forbes).
Despite the nuances – and a grey area that only becomes more so with time – it’s clear most authorities on the subject set a maximum screen time for children of two hours per day for non-educational activities.
While there’s no cookie-cutter solution for reducing your and your family’s screen time, some best-practice strategies include:
Some social platforms, such as TikTok, are already taking steps to help their users – particularly younger ones – regain control over their daily screen-time tallies.
In March 2023, TikTok announced new restrictions limiting the daily screen time on the app for any user younger than 18 to 60 minutes.
The limit – set in conjunction with experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital – means after an hour on the app, users will have to enter a passcode to continue accessing it. For users under 13, a parent or guardian will have to enter this passcode to enable up to 30 minutes’ more watch time.
TikTok said the move will “require [users] to make an active decision to extend that [screen] time”, despite “no collectively endorsed position on the ‘right’ amount of screen time”.
How to monitor screen time on both your and your family’s devices will depend on the type of device and operating system you’re using.
We’ve summarised how to do this on both iPhones and Android devices below.
On an iPhone, the Screen Time app is the easiest way to keep tabs on your usage.
Simply go to ‘Settings’, then ‘Screen Time’ – and tap to turn it on. Here, you can set up Screen Time for yourself, or on your child’s iPhone. You can also enable Screen Time across all your Apple devices – including desktop computers – here, by selecting ‘Share Across Devices’.
To check your screen time on an Android device, navigate to the Digital Wellbeing menu.
From there, head to ‘Settings’, then the dashboard of the ‘Digital Wellbeing & parental controls’ section. You can check your device usage under ‘Screen time’.
If you’re using a computer with Windows, simply open the Start Menu and click the gear-shaped icon. This will launch the ‘Settings’ app. Next, select ‘Power & battery’ from the right side of the System tab – then click on ‘Battery usage’ to expand it. From here, you can view your screen time over the last 24 hours.
Much of the research on screen time points to the fact that often, it’s not how much time we’re spending on our devices – but what we’re using them for.
Through this lens, staying safe while using a screen to access the internet is vital.
Here are our top tips for staying safe while using a screen:
Another important way to stay safe online? Using secure wifi networks – especially when it comes to sensitive transactions. Public wifi networks should only be relied on as a last resort, and only for the most basic of internet surfing.
For an extra layer of security, though, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a must.
VPNs mask your IP address while you browse – creating an encrypted and secure tunnel between your device and a remote server. Through this, VPNs protect your data from the probing eyes of your ISP, and ensure the safety and integrity of your online searches.
To browse the best VPNs on the market in 2024, explore our comprehensive guide. Our research – which encompasses hundreds of different VPN providers – compares and contrasts the performance, price points, and privacy policies of each to help you decide which is right for you. We’ve also split them out by device – with the best VPNs for iPhone and the best VPNs for Android – to safeguard you in the places you spend most of your screen time.
As the above screen time statistics highlight, global screen time is growing – as is the seemingly bottomless catalogue of online content available to kids and adults alike.
So what’s the final verdict on screen time? Ultimately, it’s a double-edged sword – especially as far as children are concerned.
Screens – with all the social media and messaging apps they enable – provide opportunities for connection, collaboration, and camaraderie. They allow young people to reach out to a world wider than their own, and – if used correctly – can also become a platform to enable education, power productivity, and develop a wider, deeper understanding of what’s around them.
Yet just as screen time can support child development, it can also inhibit it (UK Parliament Post). In the same way social media apps can alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation, they can also cause them – and, despite the lack of concrete agreement on the correlation between excessive screen time and poor physical and mental outcomes, some relationship surely exists.
The bottom line? While screen time can be both good and bad, what it needs to be is managed. A structured, reasonable approach to screen time that works for the whole family – one that balances education alongside entertainment, and evolves as the child grows – is the most effective strategy to keeping everyone happy, and to staying safe online.
