Average Screen Time Statistics and Facts
Updated · Feb 03, 2025
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Editor’s Choice
- Average Screen Time Spent Using the Internet By Online Users
- Average Screen Time Spend Worldwide By Device
- Average Screen Time Spent By Country Online Users
- Children’s Average Screen Time Per Week By Activity Type
- Average Screen Time By Age
- Average Screen Time Spent On Social Media Apps
- Average Screen Time Statistics By Demography
- Conclusion
Introduction
Average Screen Time Statistics: In today’s digital age, screens have become a dominant part of our daily lives. We often find it hard to imagine a day without smartphones, tablets, or televisions.
Screen usage has reached remarkably high levels, with various statistics for the first quarter of 2025 readily available in graphs and percentages that require careful interpretation. In this article, we will explore average screen time statistics from around the world.
Editor’s Choice
- In 2024, the average daily screen time for individuals is 6 hours and 36 minutes, an increase of 17 minutes from 2015.
- The highest daily screen time recorded is in an African nation, averaging nearly 9 hours.
- Japan has the lowest daily screen time at just over 4 hours.
- Social media usage is significant, with an average of 143 minutes spent daily, including 67 minutes on TikTok, 55 minutes on YouTube, and 39 minutes on Facebook.
- More than 80% of global internet users engage in research activities during their online sessions.
- E-communication with friends or family accounts for nearly 50% of online activities.
- Entertainment through digital content and TV makes up 42% of online activities.
- Individuals now go online 57% of the time they spend on their phones.
- Kids aged 2-10 years spend approximately 18.6 hours per week on screen-based activities.
- Females aged 16-24 spend an additional 8 hours daily on computer screens, comparable to their male counterparts.
- 78% of females are more attached to their phones than to their partners.
- Boys aged 2 years average more than 6 hours of screen time each day, while girls of the same age average 5 hours.
- From infancy, boys spend approximately 9 hours and 16 minutes with screens, and girls spend about 8 hours.
- Hispanic or Latino tweens and teens spend the most time on screens, with tweens averaging 7 hours and teens 10 hours daily.
- 65% of tweens and teens in low-income families use screens primarily for watching online videos.
- Middle-income teens average 9 hours and 34 minutes of screen time daily.
- Low-income tweens average 7 hours and 32 minutes of screen time daily.
Average Screen Time Spent Using the Internet By Online Users
(Reference: statista.com)
- Over the second quarter of 2024, the daily average online time for internet users was 6 hours and 36 minutes.
- This represented a decrease of nearly 1% from the previous quarter.
- Since late 2015, there has been an increase in daily internet usage time by 17 minutes.
- South Africa led global daily internet usage with 16-64-year-olds spending an average of 9 hours and 27 minutes online each day.
- Brazil and the Philippines followed South Africa in terms of high daily internet usage.
- Japan recorded the lowest daily internet usage, with an average of only four hours.
- Denmark’s daily internet usage averaged five hours.
- More than 60% of global internet users engaged in online research during the same period.
- A significant portion of online time was spent watching digital content, including videos, TV shows, and movies.
Average Screen Time Spend Worldwide By Device
(Reference: statista.com)
- Average screen time statistics reveal that during the second quarter of 2024, 56.9% of the total daily time spent by Internet users was spent on mobile devices such as smartphones and dumbphones.
- This in turn means more than half of online time was spent on handhelds over traditional computers–43.1% of the time was instead spent on computers.
- This shows that desktops and laptops were still used massively but lost the game to mobile devices. The change was substantial if compared with internet access some 5 years ago.
- Based on the data, in 2019 smartphones absorbed only around 47% of daily internet usage.
- It can be seen, then, that in only 5 years, the share of internet activity waged on mobile devices by a further 10 percentage points.
- This indicates that online requirements are increasingly leaning more on smartphones for everything for matters including browsing, in-touch communication, social media, and entertainment.
Average Screen Time Spent By Country Online Users
(Reference: statista.com)
- Average screen time statistics show that the average Internet user in South Africa spent nine hours and 21 minutes online per day in the second quarter of 2024, making South Africa the first globally in terms of Internet use.
- Brazil came a close second with the average user being online for an average of nine hours and 12 minutes.
- Japan’s record was the lowest, with people spending an average of a little more than two minutes online each day, summing up all device use such as smartphones, tablets, and PCs.
- In the past few years, social media has grown to become the very essence of the daily existence of many Internet users who, on average, spend 143 minutes every day online on social networking platforms.
- Thus, by April of 2024, there were 62 Latin online social network users worldwide, enough demonstration of how all-pervasive social media had become.
- YouTuber stands out as one of the most popular among the various platforms, with a monthly 2.5 billion active users.
- In 2023, “YouTube” ranked among the most searched keywords by Google, which only speaks of the Internet’s vast popularity that is YouTube.
- This platform has caused much online traffic to be generated via mobile hit in the last year, accounting for close to 98 billion visits.
- This trend was most apparent in the United Arab Emirates, which holds the highest global traffic penetration at 94.2% from YouTube.
Children’s Average Screen Time Per Week By Activity Type
(Source: statista.com)
- In a U.S. parents’ and caregivers’ survey conducted by Gallup, children use most of their free time while seated in front of screens, be it either engaging in screen-oriented play or just watching TV.
- Average screen time statistics indicate that for those 2-10 years, indoor screen-using play amounts to 18.6 hours as reported by the parents, but indoor screen-free playtime is four fewer hours.
- Most parents would want their children involved in outdoor play, but there are several difficulties preventing such a requirement.
- Weather befalls 36% as a soliciting factor; another 34% felt unsafety about letting their kids play outside without supervision.
- Also, 33% of parents have pointed to the absence of other children and play areas. Surprisingly, only 3% of parents would like to see their child use electronic devices for a longer time use.
- However many constraints make it difficult to limit screen time. Thus, 58% of respondents underscored that their children prefer screens over other activities.
- 31% of them agree that their child may require some assistance in separating from screen-based and non-screen activities while playing indoors.
Average Screen Time By Age
| 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: demandsage.com)
- Screen time varies by age and gender with young people spending most of their time on screens relative to elderly groups.
- Average screen time statistics state that females belonging to the 16-24 age bracket spent an average of 7 hours and 32 minutes per day in front of a screen, a little more than their male counterparts in the same age group who averaged 7 hours and 7 minutes.
- In the age group between 25 and 34, however, males have a slight edge with a screen time of 7 hours and 13 minutes, much higher than their female counterparts who spent 7 hours and 3 minutes before the glaring screen.
- In the 35-44 age group, males are still ahead by just about 15 minutes when it comes to screen time for an average of 6 hours and 40 minutes per day, as opposed to females with an average accumulation of 6 hours and 25 minutes.
- By the time we talk about 45-54, the fickle trend is tilting more towards giving women the upper hand, clocking at 6 hours and 9 minutes of video display per day, to males averaging a mere 6 hours and 5 minutes.
- By the age of 55-64, the female species reported 5 hours and 17 minutes of screen use every day, only accompanied by a notably lower number, 5 hours and 14 minutes from the males.
- These enlightened examples indicate that screen time is generally higher in younger groups and starts declining as individuals get older.
- Gender differences are indeed comparatively minimal, with females having a reputation for spending just a bit more time on a daily basis on screens compared to their male counterparts in most cases.
Average Screen Time Spent On Social Media Apps
(Source: slicktext.com)
- Average screen time statistics show that the average person in 2024 is forecasted to spend 143 minutes on social media, up by two minutes from the previous year.
- Various platforms affect this screen time differently. Thus, TikTok has the most extended daily consumption; users spend 67 minutes on this social media platform. Following closely, YouTube is another social media platform sharing 55 minutes per day of content they watch.
- Facebook still welcomes 39 minutes of its viewers’ daily presence, while Instagram induces around 31 minutes of involvement.
- On the contrary, Twitter usage is just 9 minutes daily.
- Similarly, Snapchat registers an average use of only 7 minutes in a whole working day. Such statistics are indicative of the different levels of social media use.
Average Screen Time Statistics By Demography
- Women generally spend a lot more time with their mobile phones than men do, with 78% of women stating that they dedicate more screen time with their mobile phone than with their partner.
- A survey of 3,640 US parents by GfK Custom Research in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic showed how 71% of parents of those under the age of 12 were worried about their child putting in too much screen time.
- In the case of parents of children under 5, 48% said that their children had interacted with a tablet; 55% indicated that smartphones were involved.
- Screen time for entertainment can also vary by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and family income. Boys tend to have more screen time than girls, particularly during the tween and teen years.
- Around 64% of boys aged 8-18 spend their screen time watching online videos. Tweens’ normal average daily screen time is six hours for boys and five hours for girls.
- Teens spend an average of 9 hours 16 minutes per day on entertainment for boys, whereas girls follow close behind with a mean of 8 hours 2 minutes.
- 66% of Hispanics/Latinos largely use screens to watch online videos. Latino tweens average 7 hours a day on screens for entertainment, which then grows to 10 hours for teens.
- Family income plays a significant role in screen time. Approximately 65% of tween and adolescent kids with low-income status use their screen time to watch online videos.
- However, middle-income teens on entertainment spent on average 9 hours and 34 minutes daily.
- Low-income tweens are on their screens the most for entertainment on average, an average of 7 hours and 32 minutes each day.
Conclusion
Average screen time statistics state that with the pandemic, the screen medium has become an increasingly convenient way of dealing with boredom while staying somewhat productive. The norm of doing everything on a screen has been very strong for the past year; worrying is that this fast-paced ritual might be more dangerous to the very young among us. The digital screen does not shine entirely negatively in every corner.
If used delicately and mindfully, it can rather enhance our own efficiency and help us grow forward. Understanding the concept of the use of screen time in productivity can put human beings closer to the achievement of digital well-being. Keeping screen time under watch with intervals of other activities is the route to long-term triumph.
Sources
FAQ.
In 2024, an average person spends approximately six hours and 36 minutes online. This slight decrease could be attributed in comparison to the prior quarter, but regarding that time in 2015, this also means an increase of 17 minutes in total.
South Africa has the highest daily internet use, with time spent online extending longer than nine hours daily per user; this is highly in excess of other nations, as Japan only needs four hours of time.
Children between two to ten years old put in 18.6 hours playing while watching screens. That included four more hours than the time spent playing indoors screen-free. Parents have issues with unlimited screen time and face resistance to its regulation.
The answer lies in the age group, with 16 to 25 years being the most on-screen, with an average screen time of 7 hours and 32 minutes. This goes a bit lower progressively as one grows older, with 55 to 64 years having 69, 5 hours daily.
In 2024, the average person spends 143 minutes a day on social media, with TikTok leading the charts at 67 minutes a day. YouTube is close behind at 55 minutes, with social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram contributing a large share of screen time.
Joseph D'Souza founded Smartphone Thoughts in 2003 as a personal project to share his insights and experiences with tech gadgets. Over time, it has grown into a well-regarded tech blog, known for its in-depth smartphone reviews and app-related statistics. Joseph is dedicated to providing detailed, well-researched content, including statistics, facts, charts, and graphs, all verified by experts. His goal is to make technological innovations and scientific discoveries easy to understand for everyone. Smartphone Thoughts is now a top source for tech news, appreciated by both tech enthusiasts and beginners.
