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Timecard
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Social media time calculator

The average internet user spends 2 hours 21 minutes a day on social media. Enter your minutes on each app to see what that adds up to: hours a year, years of your life, and how you compare. Every app links to a guide for limiting it on a Mac.

Minutes a day on each app

Every day

2:21

Every year

858hours

Rest of your life

5.3years

You2:21
Average internet user2:21

Exactly the average. That's 15% of your waking hours, and 35% of an average adult's whole screen day.

Average: DataReportal, Digital 2025 Global Overview Report (GWI). The sliders start at it, split across apps as an example.

TIMECARDAGE 25
SOCIAL MEDIA6 APPS
PER DAY
2:21
PER YEAR
36 DAYS
INSTAGRAM213 H/YR
TIKTOK207 H/YR
YOUTUBE183 H/YR
FACEBOOK152 H/YR
X73 H/YR
YEARS ON FEEDS5.3
AVERAGE
timecardmac.site/tools

Feeds on your Mac, with a limit that holds.

Timecard tracks every site and app on your Mac and blanks the tab when a daily limit runs out. Ask for more time and, on macOS 26, Apple Intelligence decides.

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Average time on social media

Internet users spend an average of 2:21 a day on social media, a third of their 6:38 online.

Per dayPer yearFrom age 25 to 79
0:30183 hours1.1 years
1:00365 hours2.3 years
1:30548 hours3.4 years
2:21858 hours5.3 years
3:001095 hours6.8 years
4:001460 hours9.0 years

Source: DataReportal, Digital 2025 Global Overview Report (GWI).

Where to find your real numbers

  • iPhone: Settings › Screen Time › See All App & Website Activity.
  • Android: Settings › Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
  • Mac: macOS Screen Time counts every site as your browser. Timecard splits the browser into real websites, so instagram.com and x.com show up on their own.

Cutting back without quitting

A daily allowance holds up better than deleting an app, because it leaves room for the useful parts. Pick one app, give it a limit, and let the limit say no. Guides for each: YouTube, X (Twitter), Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook.

Social Media Time Calculator
questions

How much time does the average person spend on social media?

2 hours 21 minutes a day, according to DataReportal's Digital 2025 report, based on GWI survey data of internet users aged 16 and over. In the US the figure is 2 hours 16 minutes, and in Brazil it's 3 hours 49 minutes.

How do I see how much time I spend on each app?

On iPhone, open Settings › Screen Time › See All App & Website Activity. Instagram also shows a daily average under Settings › Your activity › Time spent. On a Mac, Timecard tracks every app and website, including social sites in the browser.

How is the lifetime number worked out?

Your daily total × the years you have left to a US life expectancy of 79, shown as round-the-clock years. 2 hours a day from age 25 is about 4.5 years.

How do I spend less time on social media?

Set a daily limit instead of deleting apps: an allowance is easier to keep than a ban. Turn off notifications, move apps off the home screen, and keep the phone out of the bedroom. On a Mac, Timecard can block a site once its daily limit runs out.

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