Is 12 hours of screen time a lot?
12 hours a day of screen time is more than 99% of people report, going by DataReportal's survey of internet users worldwide. The global mean is 6 h 36 min; in Japan it is 5 h 6 min, in the Philippines 9 h 36 min.
12 hours by group
By country
| Group | Mean | Report less than you | 1 in X |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 6 h 36 min | 99% | 1 in 142 |
| Philippines | 9 h 36 min | 86% | 1 in 7 |
| Brazil | 9 h 30 min | 87% | 1 in 8 |
| South Africa | 8 h 18 min | 95% | 1 in 22 |
| India | 7 h 42 min | 97% | 1 in 39 |
| Nigeria | 7 h 36 min | 98% | 1 in 44 |
| Mexico | 7 h 12 min | 99% | 1 in 69 |
| Thailand | 7 h 6 min | 99% | 1 in 77 |
| Indonesia | 7 h | 99% | 1 in 87 |
| United States | 7 h | 99% | 1 in 87 |
| Argentina | 6 h 54 min | 99% | 1 in 98 |
| China | 6 h 42 min | 99% | 1 in 125 |
| Australia | 6 h 24 min | 99% | 1 in 183 |
| United Kingdom | 6 h 18 min | >99% | 1 in 209 |
| Italy | 6 h 18 min | >99% | 1 in 209 |
| Spain | 6 h 12 min | >99% | 1 in 239 |
| Canada | 6 h | >99% | 1 in 313 |
| France | 5 h 54 min | >99% | 1 in 360 |
| Sweden | 5 h 54 min | >99% | 1 in 360 |
| South Korea | 5 h 48 min | >99% | 1 in 414 |
| Norway | 5 h 48 min | >99% | 1 in 414 |
| Denmark | 5 h 42 min | >99% | 1 in 478 |
| Germany | 5 h 36 min | >99% | 1 in 552 |
| Netherlands | 5 h 36 min | >99% | 1 in 552 |
| Finland | 5 h 30 min | >99% | 1 in 639 |
| Switzerland | 5 h 18 min | >99% | 1 in 861 |
| Japan | 5 h 6 min | >99% | 1 in 1,169 |
Percentile is the share of the group reporting less screen time than this a day. “1 in X” counts the rarer side: people at or beyond this value above the median, at or under it below. Percentiles are estimated from a normal distribution with each country's mean and the global SD of 2.2 hours.
What this means
- 12 hours a day is 4,380 hours a year, about 183 full days, or 75% of a 16-hour waking day.
- That is 324 minutes more than the global mean of 6 h 36 min. The closest country mean is the Philippines at 9 h 36 min; in Norway, at 5 h 48 min, 12 hours is above the 99th percentile.
- Kept up for 45 years, the horizon our screen time test uses, 12 hours a day adds up to 22.5 years of waking life on screens.
- DataReportal's figure is what internet users aged 16 to 64 told a survey, counting phones, computers, TV and consoles together. People underestimate phone time and overestimate TV, so the number is rough. It is not a peer-reviewed study, and the spread is our estimate.
Questions
- Is 12 hours of screen time too much?
- There is no medical line for adults; the guidance that exists is for children. Against the data, 99% of internet users report less than 12 hours a day and 1% report more. That is more than nine in ten people report, even in the Philippines, which tops the survey.
- What is the average screen time per day?
- DataReportal's 2024 global mean is 6 h 36 min a day across all devices. The Philippines tops the list at 9 h 36 min, Japan is lowest at 5 h 6 min. The United States reports 7 h, the United Kingdom 6 h 18 min and Norway 5 h 48 min.
- How rare is 12 hours of screen time a day?
- Worldwide, about 1 in 142 internet users report 12 hours or more. In the United States it is 1 in 87, in Japan 1 in 1,169.
Source: DataReportal, Digital 2024 Global Overview Report: GWI survey of internet users aged 16 to 64, self-reported daily time across all devices. A survey, not a peer-reviewed study; the SD of 2.2 hours is our estimate. Percentiles are estimated from a normal distribution with each country's mean and the global SD of 2.2 hours.
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