Average Screen Time Statistics 2025 (By Age, Gender & Region)

On average, people worldwide now spend 6 hours and 45 minutes daily on screens, rising to 9 hours and 24 minutes in countries like South Africa. U.S. adults spend an average of 7 hours and 2 minutes, while Gen Z averages over 9 hours per day.

This article addresses your most pressing questions by breaking down screen usage by country, age, generation, device, activity, and even its health impact.

Backed by reliable, up-to-date sources, this data-packed guide reveals how screen habits are evolving and why understanding them is critical in a hyper-connected world. Let’s explore.

Screen Time Statistics 2025 (Top Picks)

People worldwide spend about 6 hours and 45 minutes on screens every day.
The average US screen time has reached 7 hours and 2 minutes.
41% of teenagers spend over 8 hours on screens each day.
South Africans spend an average of 9 hours and 24 minutes on screens, the highest among all countries.
The average person spends 2 hours and 21 minutes daily on social media.
The average Gen Z individual spends around 9 hours per day on screens.
An average American checks their phone 96 times every day.

Average Screen Time Statistics

As of 2025, the average person spends 6 hours and 45 minutes on their screen daily, totaling 47 hours and 15 minutes per week.

This is a 1.25% increase compared to Q3 2023. The numbers are expected to reach 6 hours 54 minutes by the end of Q3 2025.

Additionally, average screen time for adults has decreased by 4.3% since 2021 but has risen by 8.4% since 2013.

Here is a table displaying the average screen time over the years:

Date	Average Screen Time	Annual Change
Q3 2013	6 hours 9 minutes	N/A
Q3 2014	6 hours 23 minutes	+3.7%
Q3 2015	6 hours 20 minutes	-0.8%
Q3 2016	6 hours 29 minutes	+2.6%
Q3 2017	6 hours 46 minutes	+4.3%
Q3 2018	6 hours 48 minutes	+0.4%
Q3 2019	6 hours 38 minutes	-2.4%
Q3 2020	6 hours 54 minutes	+4.2%
Q3 2021	6 hours 58 minutes	+0.8%
Q3 2022	6 hours 36 minutes	-5.1%
Q3 2023	6 hours 40 minutes	N/A
Q3 2024	6 hours 45 minutes	+1.25%
Q3 2025*	6 hours 54 minutes	+2.22%

*Projected

Source: Data Reportal

An average adult in the United States spends approximately 7 hours and 2 minutes per day.

The average American screen time has remained stable at around 7 minutes since 2021.

Here is a table displaying the average time spent by US adults on the internet:

Date	US Average Screen Time
Q2-Q3 2017	6 hours 30 minutes
Q2-Q3 2018	6 hours 31 minutes
Q3 2019	6 hours 42 minutes
Q3 2020	7 hours 11 minutes
Q3 2021	7 hours 4 minutes
Q3 2022	6 hours 59 minutes
Q3 2023	7 hours 3 minutes
Q4 2024	7 hours 2 minutes

Source: Data Reportal

According to estimates, US adults spend the majority of their screen time watching TV or playing video games.

Here is a table displaying the breakdown of the average daily screen time of US adults:

Activity	Average Daily Screen Time
Watching TV/Videos	3 hours 16 mins
Gaming	1 hour 46 mins
Social Media	1 hour 27 mins
Browsing Websites	51 mins
Other	29 mins
Video Chatting	20 mins
E-reading	15 mins
Content Creation	14 mins

Screen Time By Age

Female internet users aged 16 to 24 and male users aged 25 to 34 spend the most time on screen.

Conversely, female and male users aged 55 to 64 years spent 5 hours and 17 minutes and 5 hours and 14 minutes, respectively, on screen, amounting to the lowest screen time.

If we talk about generation, Gen Zs (aged between 13 to 28 years) spend over 9 hours every day, which is the most compared to other generations.

Age Group	Female	Male
16-24	7 hours 32 minutes	7 hours 7 minutes
25-34	7 hours 3 minutes	7 hours 13 minutes
35-44	6 hours 25 minutes	6 hours 40 minutes
45-54	6 hours 9 minutes	6 hours 5 minutes
55-64	5 hours 17 minutes	5 hours 14 minutes

Source: Data Reportal

How Much Time Do People Spend On The Internet Every Day?

The majority of screen time is spent on activities conducted online. Let’s take a look at how much time people spend on the internet in different countries.

As of 2025, globally, the average time spent online is 6 hours and 45 minutes.

South Africans spend the most time online, averaging 9 hours and 24 minutes per day. Brazil follows closely with 9 hours and 13 minutes, while the Philippines ranks third with 8 hours and 52 minutes per day.

Here is a table showing the countries with the most screen time:

S.No.	Country	Average Screen Time
1	South Africa	9 hours 24 minutes
2	Brazil	9 hours 13 minutes
3	Philippines	8 hours 52 minutes
4	Colombia	8 hours 43 minutes
5	Argentina	8 hours 41 minutes
6	Chile	8 hours 31 minutes
7	Russia	8 hours 21 minutes
8	Malaysia	8 hours 17 minutes
9	U.A.E.	8 hours 11 minutes
10	Thailand	7 hours 58 minutes
11	Egypt	7 hours 55 minutes
12	Indonesia	7 hours 38 minutes
13	Mexico	7 hours 37 minutes
14	Portugal	7 hours 30 minutes
15	Bulgaria	7 hours 29 minutes
16	Israel	7 hours 20 minutes
17	Taiwan	7 hours 13 minutes
18	Saudi Arabia	7 hours 9 minutes
19	U.S.A.	7 hours 3 minutes
20	Turkey	6 hours 57 minutes

Source: Ooma

Global Screen Time Stats Based On Type Of Viewing Devices

Smartphones are the invention of the century. You basically have the world in your palms. There is nothing a smartphone can’t do nowadays, and they are the major contributors to the increased screen time globally.

There are over 6.8 billion smartphone users in the globe, and they are bound to increase as we move ahead.

Smartphones are the major contributors, but they aren’t the only ones. Let us take a look at screen time stats associated with different viewing devices such as tablets and desktops.

Average Mobile Screen Time Around The Globe

Globally, smartphones account for 53% of screen time.
The global average time spent on mobile is 4 hours and 37 minutes as of 2025.

Here is a table showing the mobile screen time of some selected countries:

S.No.	Country	Average Time Spent on Smartphone
1	Ghana	5 hours 43 minutes
2	Philippines	5 hours 21 minutes
3	Brazil	5 hours 12 minutes
4	South Africa	5 hours 11 minutes
5	Thailand	5 hours
6	Chile	4 hours 58 minutes
7	Kenya	4 hours 57 minutes
8	Colombia	4 hours 47 minutes
9	Malaysia	4 hours 42 minutes
10	Argentina	4 hours 40 minutes

Source: Exploding Topics

Average Desktop Screen Time Around The Globe

The total share of computer screen time in all screen time is 47%.
Globally, the average total time spent on computer screens is 3 hours and 14 minutes as of 2023.

Here is a table showing the computer screen time of some selected countries.

Country	Screen Time On Desktops
South Africa	5 hours 37 minutes
Brazil	4 hours 54 minutes
Colombia	4 hours 54 minutes
Philippines	4 hours 40 minutes
Thailand	4 hours 38 minutes
Argentina	4 hours 34 minutes
Portugal	4 hours 22 minutes
Malaysia	4 hours 21 minutes
Mexico	4 hours 18 minutes
Russia	4 hours 11 minutes

Source: explodingtopics.com.

Average Streaming Services Screen Time

In the United States, people spend 2 hours and 10 minutes on Hulu.

Here is a table showing the streaming time of the top 4 streaming platforms:

Platform	Streaming Time
Hulu	2 hours 10 minutes
Netflix	1 hour 50 minutes
Amazon Prime	1 hour 37 minutes
Disney+	1 hour 29 minutes

Source: Slicktext.com.

Sage Recommends: Read our detailed take on Netflix user demographics and insights.

Screen Time Statistics Based On Demographics

Let us get deeper into the demographics of screen time all over the world. I will uncover which age groups and generations contribute the most and least to the average screen time.

76% of Gen Z reported they spend too much time on their smartphones.

Here is a table showing the percentage of people who said they spent too much time on their smartphones by generation:

Generation	Share Of Respondents
Gen Z	76%
Millennials	67%
Gen X	66%
Boomers	51%

Gen Z and Millennials’ gamer population spent 11 to 13 hours on gameplay weekly.
The average screen time of the Gen Z population 9 hours.

Here is a table showing the average screen time by generation.

Generation	Average Screen Time
Gen Z	9 hours
Millennials	6 hours 42 minutes
Gen X	4 hours 10 minutes
Baby Boomers	3 hours 31 minutes

Related Reads: Generation Alpha Stats and Insights

Source: Magnet ABA Therapy

Average Social Media Screen Time Statistics

People spend an average of 2 hours 31 minutes per day on social media. In this section, we will examine the statistics on average social media screen time in detail.

Here is a table showing the daily time spent on social media by users globally:

Year	Daily Time Spent On Social Media
2012	1 hour 30 minutes
2013	1 hour 35 minutes
2014	1 hour 44 minutes
2015	1 hour 51 minutes
2016	2 hours 8 minutes
2017	2 hours 14 minutes
2018	2 hours 22 minutes
2019	2 hours 25 minutes
2020	2 hours 25 minutes
2021	2 hours 25 minutes
2022	2 hours 27 minutes
2023	2 hours 31 minutes
2024	2 hours 27 minutes
2025	2 hours 31 minutes

TikTok is where most social media users spend the majority of their time.

TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform. The platform’s user base stands at around 1.06 billion, and users spend an average of 1.5 hours per day on TikTok.

You Might Want To Check Our Detailed Research On Other Social Media Platforms

Source: Statista, slicktext.com.

Screen Time And Children

The children born in this tech-savvy world are getting exposed to screens from a very young age. Let’s take a look at the screen time statistics of children across various age groups in this section.

74% of American parents say their two-year-old child watches TV.
Children in the United States spent an average of 1 hour and 53 minutes on TikTok.

Here is a table showing the time spent by children on leading social media apps in the United States.

Leading Social Media Apps	Time Spent On App By Children
TikTok	1 hour 53 minutes
Snapchat	1 hour 30 minutes
Pinterest	20 minutes
Facebook	18 minutes
Reddit	13 minutes
Twitter	10 minutes

60% of parents in the United States limit their children’s screen time.
Twenty-seven percent of parents in the United States limit their children’s screen time every day.

Here is a table showing the ways in which parents limited screen time for their children in the United States:

Ways	Share Of Respondents
They do not limit	40%
Limit screen time per day	27%
Can only use the screen on weekends	17%
Only can use the screen on weekends	12%
They can not use the screen at any time	4%

15% of parents in the United States allowed their children less than one hour of daily screen time.
93% of children aged between 5 to 8 years old watch TV.

Source: Statista, explodingtopics.com.

Screen Time And Health Statistics

Numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between screen time and health, encompassing both physical and mental aspects.

Screen time has been linked to an increased risk of obesity. Screen time can also interfere with sleep. The blue light emitted from screens can suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate sleep-wake cycles

Let’s examine the data that sheds light on this relationship.

The recommended daily screen time is only 2 hours.
Children under two years old should not have any screen time at all.
32% of users reported that their behavior was influenced by screen time.

Here is a table showing the users’ opinions about the influence of screen time on their behavior.

Screen Time Influence On Users’ Behavior	Share Of Respondents
Influenced by Screen time	32%
May be influenced by Screen time	15.5%
Never influenced by Screen time	52.4%

87% of children exceed the recommended screen time.
Obesity is the most associated disease with excessive screen time.

Screen time is often associated with spending long periods of time sitting or lying down. This behavior can lead to weight gain and obesity, which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Here is a table showing the most associated diseases with excessive screen time: