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Time Spent Using Smartphones (2025 Statistics)

by Fabio Duarte
Last Updated: March 28, 2025

In a relatively short period of time, smartphones have grown to a near-ubiquitous status.

With each new release, smartphones are becoming more powerful and all-encompassing. Understandably, this is leading to increased user adoption and a surge in daily screen time.

We’ll explore the statistics around smartphone screen time, breaking things down into these subcategories:

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Here are some highlights from this smartphone stats page:

  • On average, people spend 4 hours and 37 minutes on their phones each day.
  • Individuals check their phones an average of 58 times each day.
  • Ghanaians spend the longest amount of time on their phones each day.
  • Japanese citizens spend under half of the global average time on their smartphones.
  • 3 in 4 Gen Zers claim to spend too much time on their smartphones.

For further context and more data, keep reading.

Time Spent Using Smartphones Annually

According to recent data, the average person spends 4 hours and 37 minutes on their phone every day. That's the equivalent of over 1 day per week or 6 days per month. Across a year, that's approximately 70 days spent looking at a phone.

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Perhaps surprisingly, weekdays average more smartphone use than weekends. On average, people check their phones 58 times per day. And almost 52% of phone checks (30 per day) occur during work hours.

Picking your phone up can become a habit, as data shows that half of all screen time sessions begin within 3 minutes of the last.

Here’s a breakdown of time spent on smartphones by pick-up:

Time Spent on SmartphoneAverage Amount of Times Per DayPercentage of Daily Pick-Ups
Less Than 2 Minutes4069%
2 to 10 Minutes1526%
10+ Minutes35%

Across the day, the mean time spent on a smartphone per pick-up is around 1 minute 15 seconds.

Sources: Harmony Healthcare ITRescue Time

Time Spent Using Smartphones by Region

Data from Q3 2024 shows that Ghanaians spend over 5 hours and 43 minutes per day on their smartphones.

In total, 5 countries exceed 5 hours of screen time per day on their phones. And 21 nations examined exceeded the average for Q3 2024 (3 hours 46 minutes).

Remarkably, 4 South American nations feature in the top 10. While 3 South-East Asian countries also make up the top 10.

Here’s the full breakdown of each nation’s daily smartphone use in hours and minutes:

RankCountryContinentTime Spent on Smartphone per Day (Q3 2024)Time Spent on Smartphone per Day (Q3 2023)Change Over Previous Year
1GhanaAfrica5 hours and 43 minutes4 hours and 58 minutes↑ 45 minutes
2PhilippinesAsia5 hours and 21 minutes5 hours and 20 minutes↑ 1 minute
3BrazilSouth America5 hours and 12 minutes5 hours and 19 minutes↓ 7 minutes 
4South AfricaAfrica5 hours and 11 minutes5 hours and 15 minutes↓ 4 minutes
5ThailandAsia5 hours5 hours and 2 minutes↓ 2 minutes
6ChileSouth America4 hours and 58 minutes4 hours and 48 minutes↑ 10 minutes
7KenyaAfrica4 hours and 57 minutes4 hours and 36 minutes↑ 21 minutes
8ColombiaSouth America4 hours and 47 minutes4 hours and 47 minutes
9MalaysiaAsia4 hours and 42 minutes4 hours and 37 minutes↑ 5 minutes
10ArgentinaSouth America4 hours and 40 minutes4 hours and 37 minutes↑ 3 minutes
11IndonesiaAsia4 hours and 38 minutes4 hours and 45 minutes↓ 7 minutes
12UAEAsia4 hours and 27 minutes4 hours and 34 minutes↓ 7 minutes
13MexicoNorth America4 hours and 20 minutes4 hours and 23 minutes↓ 3 minutes
14Saudi ArabiaAsia4 hours and 17 minutes4 hours and 23 minutes↓ 6 minutes
=15EgyptAfrica4 hours and 9 minutes4 hours and 25 minutes↓ 16 minutes
=15TaiwanAsia4 hours and 9 minutes4 hours and 5 minutes↑ 4 minutes
17RussiaEurope/Asia4 hours and 7 minutes3 hours and 56 minutes↑ 11 minutes
18TurkeyEurope/Asia4 hours and 4 minutes4 hours and 7 minutes↓ 3 minutes
19IndiaAsia3 hours and 57 minutes4 hours and 3 minutes↓ 6 minutes
20IsraelAsia3 hours and 53 minutes3 hours and 52 minutes↑ 1 minute
21NigeriaAfrica3 hours and 49 minutes4 hours and 20 minutes↑ 29 minutes
-Global Average-3 hours and 46 minutes3 hours and 50 minutes-
22BulgariaEurope3 hours and 44 minutes3 hours and 49 minutes↓ 5 minutes
=23SerbiaEurope3 hours and 40 minutes
=23RomaniaEurope3 hours and 40 minutes3 hours and 51 minutes↓ 11 minutes
25PortugalEurope3 hours and 38 minutes3 hours and 33 minutes↑ 5 minutes
26ChinaAsia3 hours and 32 minutes3 hours and 31 minutes↑ 1 minute
27MoroccoAfrica3 hours and 25 minutes2 hours and 21 minutes↑ 4 minutes
28USNorth America3 hours and 22 minutes3 hours and 39 minutes↓ 17 minutes
29CroatiaEurope3 hours and 21 minutes3 hours and 17 minutes↑ 4 minutes
30VietnamAsia3 hours and 20 minutes3 hours and 30 minutes↓ 10 minutes
31PolandEurope3 hours and 18 minutes3 hours and 5 minutes↑ 13 minutes
=32New ZealandOceania3 hours and 17 minutes3 hours and 13 minutes↑ 4 minutes
=32SingaporeAsia3 hours and 17 minutes3 hours and 26 minutes↓ 9 minutes
34SwedenEurope3 hours and 13 minutes3 hours and 10 minutes↑ 3 minutes
35IrelandEurope3 hours and 11 minutes3 hours and 15 minutes↓ 4 minutes
36NorwayEurope3 hours and 2 minutes2 hours and 58 minutes↑ 4 minutes
37HungaryEurope3 hours3 hours and 14 minutes↓ 14 minutes
38AustraliaOceania2 hours and 58 minutes2 hours and 56 minutes↓ 2 minutes
39NetherlandsEurope2 hours and 55 minutes2 hours and 46 minutes↑ 9 minutes
40CzechiaEurope2 hours and 55 minutes2 hours and 56 minutes↓ 1 minute
=41Hong KongAsia2 hours and 54 minutes3 hours and 17 minutes↓ 23 minutes
=41ItalyEurope2 hours and 54 minutes2 hours and 57 minutes↓ 3 minutes
=41SpainEurope2 hours and 54 minutes2 hours and 53 minutes↑ 1 minute
44CanadaNorth America2 hours and 46 minutes2 hours and 59 minutes↓ 13 minutes
45SwitzerlandEurope2 hours and 44 minutes2 hours and 38 minutes↑ 6 minutes
=46GreeceEurope2 hours and 43 minutes2 hours and 54 minutes↓ 11 minutes
=46South KoreaAsia2 hours and 43 minutes2 hours and 43 minutes
48GermanyEurope2 hours and 42 minutes2 hours and 36 minutes↑ 6 minutes
=49UKEurope2 hours and 39 minutes2 hours and 57 minutes↓ 18 minutes
=49AustriaEurope2 hours and 39 minutes2 hours and 41 minutes↓ 2 minutes
50FranceEurope2 hours and 34 minutes2 hours and 34 minutes
51BelgiumEurope2 hours and 32 minutes2 hours and 26 minutes↑ 6 minutes
52DenmarkEurope2 hours and 27 minutes2 hours and 24 minutes↑ 3 minutes
53JapanAsia1 hour and 47 minutes1 hour and 54 minutes↓ 7 minutes

Source: DataReportal

Smartphone Use in the US

Around 1 in 3 (36%) Americans believe they spend too much time on their smartphones each day.

And 40% aim to cut down on their smartphone use. However, 27% don't think they will be successful.

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Split by age, there is a correlation between generation and phone screen time:

GenerationAverage Daily Screen TimeProportion Who Feel Addicted
Gen Z6 hours and 5 minutes56%
Millennial4 hours and 36 minutes48%
Gen x4 hours and 9 minutes44%
Baby Boomer3 hours and 31 minutes29%

    A recent study found that, on average, children get their first phone at age 12. That means that the average American is expected to spend approximately 12 years of their life looking at their phone.

    More than half of Americans believe they are too dependent on their phones (52%). As many as 3 in 5 (59%) use their phones on the toilet, while 27% will text when at stoplights.

    Time spent on non-voice activities continues to rise in the US. Between 2019 and 2024, the amount of time spent on daily mobile phone use has risen from 3 hours and 45 minutes to 4 hours and 49 minutes, according to eMarketer.

    Here's a breakdown of that change over time:

    YearTime Spent on Non-Voice Mobile Phone Use
    20193 hours and 45 minutes
    20204 hours and 16 minutes
    20214 hours and 24 minutes
    20224 hours and 30 minutes
    2023*4 hours and 36 minutes
    2024*4 hours and 49 minutes

    *Projected figures.

    Sources: Harmony Healthcare IT, Stanford Medicine, eMarketer

    Time Spent Using Smartphones by Demographic

    Around 3 in 4 Gen Zers admit to spending more time on their smartphones than they would like each day. By comparison, just over half of the Baby Boomers feel the same way.

    In fact, 24% of Gen Z respondents claimed that smartphone overuse had become a problem in their lives. And 41% of Gen Zers claim to be actively taking steps towards reducing their screen time.

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    Here is the generational breakdown of smartphone use:

    GenerationOn Phone More Than PreferableTaking Steps to Reduce Screen Time
    Baby Boomers51.6%31.3%
    Gen X66.7%40.7%
    Millennials67.3%30.5%
    Gen Z76.3%41%

    Another research study found that females are more likely to use smartphones for longer durations of time than males. From a sample of over 30,000 people, the daily average smartphone screen time for females was approximately 2 hours and 47 minutes, compared to 2 hours and 34 minutes for males.

    This corroborates findings from a 2022 paper that asked respondents if they spend more time on their smartphones than their partners.

    In total, 78% of females claim to spend more time on their smartphones than their partners.

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    And although the majority of males asked also believe they spend more time on their smartphones than their partners, a lower proportion claimed to do so (64%).

    Sources: SimpleTexting, ResearchGate, SellCell

    How Time is Spent on Smartphones

    Unsurprisingly, using smartphones to access the internet has become increasingly commonplace.

    In 2014, just under 1/3rd of time on smartphones was spent using the internet. By 2019, internet usage accounted for more than half of the time spent on smartphones. And this figure continues to grow.

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    Here’s a look at internet usage as a share of total time spent on smartphones since 2013:

    QuarterShare of Time Spent on SmartphonesPercentage Change Over Previous Year
    Q3 201327.3%-
    Q3 201433.1%↑ 5.8%
    Q3 201537.7%↑ 4.6%
    Q3 201639.1%↑ 1.4%
    Q3 201745.6%↑ 6.5%
    Q3 201849.4%↑ 3.8%
    Q3 201950.8%↑ 1.4%
    Q3 202052.8%↑ 2%
    Q3 202153.5%↑ 0.7%
    Q3 202256.9%↑ 3.4%
    Q3 202357.6%↑ 0.7%

    The raw minutes spent accessing the internet via smartphones have also risen year-over-year during the last decade.

    In 2011, this figure accounted for just over half an hour (32 minutes). By 2014, this had almost doubled, reaching 1 hour and 3 minutes. And as of 2023, the average daily time spent using the internet on a smartphone was approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes.

    This rise coincides with the steady decline of internet usage via desktop.

    Here’s a closer look at internet usage by the device since 2011:

    YearDesktop Internet UseMobile Internet UseMobile Internet Use Change Over Previous YearDifference Between Desktop and Mobile Internet Use
    201143 mins32 mins-Desktop +11 mins
    201247 mins36 mins↑ 4 minsDesktop +11 mins
    201349 mins45 mins↑ 9 minsDesktop +4 mins
    201447 mins1 hour 3 mins↑ 18 minsMobile +16 mins
    201542 mins1 hour 21 mins↑ 18 minsMobile +39 mins
    201640 mins1 hour 34 mins↑ 13 minsMobile +54 mins
    201742 mins1 hour 49 mins↑ 15 minsMobile +1 hour 7 mins
    201839 mins2 hours 2 mins↑ 13 minsMobile +1 hour 23 mins
    201939 mins2 hours 12 mins↑ 11 minsMobile +1 hour 33 mins
    202038 mins2 hours 23 mins↑ 11 minsMobile +1 hour 45 mins
    202137 mins2 hours 35 mins↑ 12 minsMobile +1 hour 58 mins
    2022*2 hours 51 mins3 hours 46 mins↑ 1 hour 11 minsMobile +55 mins
    2023*2 hours 50 mins3 hours 50 mins↑ 4 minsMobile +1 hour

    *Change in methodology.

    Social media is a huge part of both smartphone and internet use.

    According to research, the main reason people use social media apps is boredom (51.8%).

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    Other reasons for using smartphones to access social media include:

    • Curiosity – 18.6%
    • Information – 16%
    • Loneliness – 9.4%
    • Necessity/Work – 3.8%
    • Health purposes – 0.4%

    Sources: DataReportal, Zenith, SimpleTexting

    Smartphone Use Perceived Effects

    Despite increasing daily smartphone use, only around 1 in 10 people (10.3%) believe screen time has a positive effect on mental health.

    By contrast, 68.6% of those surveyed believe that screen time affects mental health negatively.

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    The same study asked respondents what things they associate with screen time. The response with the highest proportion of agreement (54.7%) was that screen time is associated with eye strain.

    Results show a mixed bag of both positive and negative associations:

    Screen Time EffectPositive/NegativeRespondents Who Accept an Association
    Eye strainNegative54.7%
    Being more informedPositive54.1%
    Not getting work doneNegative50.3%
    Feeling more connectedPositive48.1%
    Trouble paying attentionNegative42.8%
    Wider worldviewPositive36.6%
    AnxietyNegative29.5%
    Back issuesNegative25.9%
    Feeling less connectedNegative22.6%
    DepressionNegative21.0%
    Being more productivePositive18.4%
    Narrower worldviewNegative6.1%
    None of the aboveNeutral4.8%

    Source: SimpleTexting

    Smartphone Use Projections

    The $1 trillion+ global mobile industry continues to grow each year.

    Smartphone users have risen year over year since 2016 and are projected to continue on that upward trajectory for at least another half-decade.

    There were approximately 3.67 billion smartphone subscriptions worldwide as of 2016.

    This number has increased by between 300 million and 800 million each year. And hit an estimated 6.57 billion in 2022.

    By 2027, there will be an estimated 7.69 billion smartphone subscriptions – just 200 million shy of the current global population.

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    Given these projections and the above data, increased smartphone screen time for the foreseeable future appears almost inevitable.

    Sources: GSMA, Ericsson

    Key Takeaways

    Screen time is evidently on the rise.

    Whether that’s positive or negative is debatable, but globally, it is an undeniable fact.

    Naturally, we will reach a plateau, but there is little to indicate that this will arrive in the coming years.

    For more related content, check out Mobile App Development Trends and In-Demand Mobile App Startups.

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    Written By

    Fabio Duarte

    Research Associate

    Fabio is a research associate at Exploding Topics. Since 2021, Fabio has researched, written, and edited articles for the Explo... Read more