Screen Time Statistics 2026

How much time do people spend on their phones?

Worldwide, people spent about 3.6 hours a day in mobile apps in 2025, according to Sensor Tower's modelled estimate. Measured UK figures are higher for young adults: 18 to 24 year olds spend 6 hours 20 minutes a day online.

How often do people check their phones?

US adults check their phones 186 times a day on average, about 11.6 times an hour, and 84.6% check within ten minutes of waking up, according to a Reviews.org survey from late 2025.

Teens and phones

Teenagers in the US average 4.8 hours a day on social media, rising from 4.1 hours at age 13 to 5.8 hours at 17 (Gallup, 2023). In 2025, 36% of US teens said they used at least one of five major platforms almost constantly (Pew).

Phones and sleep

Half of US adults use a screen in bed every day (AASM, 2025). In a study of 45,202 Norwegian students, each extra hour of screen use after going to bed was associated with 59% higher odds of insomnia symptoms and 24 minutes less sleep.

Phones and attention

Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, found that by 2020 the average time people kept their attention on a single screen before switching was 47 seconds, down from about two and a half minutes in her 2004 study.

What helps people cut back

In randomised trials, limiting social media to about 30 minutes a day for three weeks reduced loneliness and depression (Hunt et al., 2018), and two weeks without mobile internet improved mental health, wellbeing and sustained attention (Castelo et al., 2025).

How accurate are people about their own screen time?

Not very. A review of 47 studies found that what people report correlates only moderately with what their devices log, and estimates were accurate in only about 5% of the studies reviewed. That is why measured figures, like those from Digital Wellbeing, are more useful than a guess.

To turn your own daily figure into days a year and years of your life, use the screen time calculator. For definitions of the terms used here, see the glossary.

Common questions

What is the average daily screen time in 2026?

Sensor Tower estimates people spent about 3.6 hours a day in mobile apps worldwide in 2025. Measured UK figures from Ofcom show adults online for 4 hours 30 minutes a day in May 2025, 77% of it on smartphones.

How many times a day do people check their phones?

US adults check their phones about 186 times a day, according to a Reviews.org survey of about 1,000 adults in late 2025. That is roughly 11.6 times an hour.

How much screen time do teenagers have?

Gallup found US teens average 4.8 hours a day on social media alone in 2023, from 4.1 hours at 13 to 5.8 hours at 17. Pew found 36% of US teens use at least one major platform almost constantly in 2025.

Does using your phone in bed affect sleep?

It is linked to worse sleep. In 45,202 Norwegian students, each extra hour of screen use after going to bed was associated with 59% higher odds of insomnia symptoms and 24 minutes less sleep. The study shows an association, not proof of cause.

What actually reduces screen time?

In randomised trials, capping social media at about 30 minutes a day and blocking mobile internet for two weeks both improved wellbeing. Grayscale cut phone use by about 38 minutes a day in one study of students.

Sources

1. Sensor Tower (2026). State of Mobile 2026. sensortower.com/blog/state-of-mobile-2026
2. Ofcom (2025). Online Nation 2025. www.ofcom.org.uk
3. Reviews.org (2026). Cell Phone Usage Stats 2026. www.reviews.org/mobile/cell-phone-addiction
4. Pew Research Center (2026). Internet use, smartphone ownership and digital divides in the U.S. www.pewresearch.org
5. Pew Research Center (2025). Teens, Social Media and AI Chatbots 2025. www.pewresearch.org
6. Gallup (2023). Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media Per Day. news.gallup.com
7. Common Sense Media (2023). Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use. www.commonsensemedia.org
8. American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2026). Americans are doomscrolling at bedtime, prioritizing screen time over sleep. aasm.org
9. Hjetland, G. J., Skogen, J. C., Hysing, M., Gradisar, M. and Sivertsen, B. (2025). How and when screens are used: comparing different screen activities and sleep in Norwegian university students. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1548273
10. University of California (2024). How to sharpen your attention and meet your goals in 2024, interview with Gloria Mark. www.universityofcalifornia.edu
11. Stothart, C., Mitchum, A. and Yehnert, C. (2015). The attentional cost of receiving a cell phone notification. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 41(4). doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000100
12. Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C. and Young, J. (2018). No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10). doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751
13. Castelo, N., Kushlev, K., Ward, A. F., Esterman, M. and Reiner, P. B. (2025). Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being. PNAS Nexus, 4(2). doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf017
14. Holte, A. J. and Ferraro, F. R. (2020). True colors: Grayscale setting reduces screen time in college students. The Social Science Journal. doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2020.1737461
15. Grüning, D. J., Riedel, F. and Lorenz-Spreen, P. (2023). Directing smartphone use through the self-nudge app one sec. PNAS, 120(8). doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2213114120
16. Parry, D. A., Davidson, B. I., Sewall, C. J. R., Fisher, J. T., Mieczkowski, H. and Quintana, D. S. (2021). A systematic review and meta-analysis of discrepancies between logged and self-reported digital media use. Nature Human Behaviour, 5. doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01117-5