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Average screen time for adults
Adult internet users spend an average of 6 hours 38 minutes a day online. Phones take the bigger share. Streamed TV counts, but broadcast TV and gaming consoles come on top.
| Device | Per day | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | 3:46 | 57 days |
| Computer | 2:52 | 44 days |
| Total | 6:38 | 101 days |
Source: DataReportal, Digital 2025 Global Overview Report (GWI).
How much screen time is too much?
For adults there's no official daily limit. Eight hours at a desk for work is not the same as eight hours of feeds, so the useful number is leisure screen time: the hours you choose, outside work. If screens fill most of your free time, or you pick up your phone without deciding to, that's the signal to cut back.
For children there is guidance. The World Health Organization recommends no sedentary screen time for children under 2, and no more than one hour a day for ages 2 to 4.
Your screen time over a lifetime
Small daily habits add up to years. Here is what each daily total means for a 30-year-old, with 49 years left at the US life expectancy of 79.
| Screen time per day | Per year | Years on screens from 30 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 hours | 30 days | 4.1 |
| 4 hours | 61 days | 8.2 |
| 6 hours | 91 days | 12.3 |
| 8 hours | 122 days | 16.3 |
| 10 hours | 152 days | 20.4 |
How to check your real screen time on a Mac
Estimates are usually low. On a Mac, open System Settings › Screen Time to see a few weeks of app use, but every website is counted as your browser, so YouTube and a work doc look the same. Timecard tracks every app and website on your Mac, keeps the history forever, and prints your day as a timecard every evening.