Screen Time Statistics: How Much Adults, Teens, and Kids Spend on Screens

Screen time is still one of the clearest ways to measure how digital life shapes everyday behavior. The most important thing to remember is that not all studies define screen time the same way. Global adult reports often measure time online or watching connected media, while youth reports frequently measure entertainment screen media and exclude schoolwork or homework. That means the strongest comparisons come from looking at like-for-like numbers inside the same study.

Top screen time statistics

• Adult internet users worldwide spend an average of 6 hours and 38 minutes online per day.
• Average daily internet use is 3 hours and 46 minutes on mobile devices and 2 hours and 52 minutes on computers.
• Global internet users also spend 3 hours and 13 minutes per day watching television across linear, streaming, and recorded formats.
• The typical internet user spends 2 hours and 21 minutes per day on social media and actively uses 6.75 social platforms per month.
• In the U.S., children age 0 to 8 average 2 hours and 27 minutes of daily screen media.
• Children age 5 to 8 average 3 hours and 28 minutes of daily screen media.
• Common Sense Media reports that 40% of children have their own tablet by age 2, and by age 8 nearly 1 in 4 have their own cellphone.
• U.S. tweens average 5 hours and 33 minutes of screen media per day, while teens average 8 hours and 39 minutes.
• That tween and teen figure excludes schoolwork and homework, and Common Sense said average daily screen use rose 17% from 2019 to 2021 for both groups.
• In Pew’s 2024 teen tech survey, 95% of U.S. teens said they had access to a smartphone and 46% said they were online almost constantly.
• In Pew’s screen-time survey, 38% of teens said they spend too much time on their smartphone, about a quarter said the same about social media, 39% said they had cut back on social media use, and 36% said they had cut back on phone use.
• Pew also found that 72% of teens at least sometimes feel peaceful without their phone, while 44% say being without it makes them anxious. In a Common Sense smartphone-use study, participants picked up their phones a median of 51 times per day.

Global daily screen-related time benchmarks

At the adult level, the biggest benchmark is still time online. DataReportal’s 2025 global figures put average daily internet use at 6 hours and 38 minutes. Inside that broader picture, mobile devices account for more daily internet time than computers, while television remains a major separate media activity at 3 hours and 13 minutes per day. Social media also remains substantial at 2 hours and 21 minutes per day.

Daily adult screen benchmarks worldwide

Max = 6h 38m. Widths: Total internet 100.00%, Mobile internet 56.78%, TV 48.49%, Computer internet 43.22%, Social media 35.43%.

Screen time statistics for kids and teens

For younger children, the latest Common Sense Media census shows that U.S. children age 0 to 8 average 2 hours and 27 minutes of screen media per day, while children age 5 to 8 average 3 hours and 28 minutes. The same research says 40% of children have their own tablet by age 2, and by age 8 nearly 1 in 4 have their own cellphone.

For older children, Common Sense Media’s tween and teen census found that 8- to 12-year-olds average 5 hours and 33 minutes of daily screen media and 13- to 18-year-olds average 8 hours and 39 minutes. That study says the numbers exclude school-related screen time, and it reported a 17% increase in average daily screen use from 2019 to 2021 for both tweens and teens.

Daily youth screen media benchmarks in the U.S.

Max = 8h 39m. Widths: Kids 0-8 average 28.32%, Kids 5-8 40.08%, Tweens 64.16%, Teens 100.00%.

Teen screen-time attitudes and behavior

Pew’s recent U.S. teen data shows that constant connection is still common. In the 2024 tech survey, 95% of teens said they had access to a smartphone and 46% said they were online almost constantly. In Pew’s screen-time survey, 38% said they spend too much time on their smartphone, about 25% said the same about social media, 39% said they had cut back on social media use, and 36% said they had cut back on phone use.

Teens also described screen use as emotionally mixed rather than purely positive or negative. Pew found that 72% at least sometimes feel peaceful when they do not have their smartphone, while 44% say being without it makes them anxious. Common Sense Media’s smartphone-use research adds another useful benchmark: participants picked up their phones a median of 51 times per day.

How U.S. teens describe screen-related behavior

Max = 72%. Widths: Peaceful without phone 100.00%, Anxious without phone 61.11%, Cut back social media 54.17%, Spend too much time on phone 52.78%, Cut back phone use 50.00%, Spend too much time on social media 34.72%.

What these screen time statistics show

These numbers point to three clear patterns. Screen exposure starts early, with meaningful daily use and personal device ownership showing up well before age 8. Teen entertainment screen use remains much heavier than young-child screen use, and almost-constant connectivity is normal for a large share of adolescents. At the adult level, phones remain the dominant way people access the internet, which helps explain why mobile habits sit at the center of modern screen-time discussions.

Sources

• DataReportal, Digital 2025: Global Overview Report
• DataReportal, Digital 2025: device trends for 2025
• DataReportal, Digital 2025: TV trends and realities
• DataReportal, Digital 2025: the state of social media in 2025
• DataReportal, Global Social Media Statistics
• Common Sense Media, The 2025 Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight
• Common Sense Media, The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021
• Common Sense Media, Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person’s Smartphone Use
• Pew Research Center, Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024
• Pew Research Center, How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Time