Is 8.5 hours of screen time a lot?
8.5 hours a day of screen time is more than 81% 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.
8.5 hours by group
By country
| Group | Mean | Report less than you | 1 in X |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 6 h 36 min | 81% | 1 in 5 |
| Philippines | 9 h 36 min | 31% | 1 in 3 |
| Brazil | 9 h 30 min | 32% | 1 in 3 |
| South Africa | 8 h 18 min | 54% | 1 in 2 |
| India | 7 h 42 min | 64% | 1 in 3 |
| Nigeria | 7 h 36 min | 66% | 1 in 3 |
| Mexico | 7 h 12 min | 72% | 1 in 4 |
| Thailand | 7 h 6 min | 74% | 1 in 4 |
| Indonesia | 7 h | 75% | 1 in 4 |
| United States | 7 h | 75% | 1 in 4 |
| Argentina | 6 h 54 min | 77% | 1 in 4 |
| China | 6 h 42 min | 79% | 1 in 5 |
| Australia | 6 h 24 min | 83% | 1 in 6 |
| United Kingdom | 6 h 18 min | 84% | 1 in 6 |
| Italy | 6 h 18 min | 84% | 1 in 6 |
| Spain | 6 h 12 min | 85% | 1 in 7 |
| Canada | 6 h | 87% | 1 in 8 |
| France | 5 h 54 min | 88% | 1 in 8 |
| Sweden | 5 h 54 min | 88% | 1 in 8 |
| South Korea | 5 h 48 min | 89% | 1 in 9 |
| Norway | 5 h 48 min | 89% | 1 in 9 |
| Denmark | 5 h 42 min | 90% | 1 in 10 |
| Germany | 5 h 36 min | 91% | 1 in 11 |
| Netherlands | 5 h 36 min | 91% | 1 in 11 |
| Finland | 5 h 30 min | 91% | 1 in 12 |
| Switzerland | 5 h 18 min | 93% | 1 in 14 |
| Japan | 5 h 6 min | 94% | 1 in 16 |
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
- 8.5 hours a day is 3,103 hours a year, about 129 full days, or 53% of a 16-hour waking day.
- That is 114 minutes more than the global mean of 6 h 36 min. The closest country mean is South Africa at 8 h 18 min; in Norway, at 5 h 48 min, 8.5 hours is the 89th percentile.
- Kept up for 45 years, the horizon our screen time test uses, 8.5 hours a day adds up to 15.9 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 8.5 hours of screen time too much?
- There is no medical line for adults; the guidance that exists is for children. Against the data, 81% of internet users report less than 8.5 hours a day and 19% report more. Above the global mean, though in the same range as the United States and most of Latin America.
- 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 8.5 hours of screen time a day?
- Worldwide, about 1 in 5 internet users report 8.5 hours or more. In the United States it is 1 in 4, in Japan 1 in 16.
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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