Screen Time and Internet Usage Statistics 2025

According to our latest data, the average American racks up 12 hours and 36 minutes of screen time each day across all devices, which is a significant decrease from last year’s 16 hours and 10 minutes. Still, that’s over half the day, and the majority of waking hours, spent on screens.

Conversations around screen time often involve mental health, burnout, and digital boundaries—for good reason, experts say.

“Screen fatigue isn’t just about eye strain—it’s also a mental fog that affects memory, patience, and the ability to be present,” Mandi Behzadi, a licensed therapist in Los Angeles, tells Reviews.org.

We analyzed nationwide screen time trends to find out how Americans are spending their time online, how usage breaks down by device, activity, and generation—and what that means for our well-being.

Internet usage at a glance

Around the world, 67.9% of the global population, or 5.56 billion individuals use the internet.

In the United States, far more of the population uses the internet. Statista reports that 95% of Americans have the ability to access the internet. And while most people do have the ability to access the internet, our analysis of the 2022 ACS survey found that around 11.5 million (8.8%) U.S. households don’t have home internet, and 4.3% don’t have a computer.

With that in mind, nearly 60% of Americans say that affordable internet is “extremely important” to their daily lives. We have plenty of devices that help us with work, play, school, healthcare, shopping and everything in between.

Screen time by device

Smartphones and connected TVs rank closely at the top of the list, both taking up over 3 hours of our day on average.

While smartphones have an average mean time barely above connected TVs, median times show TV taking up an extra half-hour of screen time above phones—and let’s be honest, most of us can be found alternating between the two at the same time.

Meanwhile, laptop and desktop computers have a mean average time of about 2 hours each day, and tablets and gaming consoles average out to be closer to an hour each day.

The median times for tablets and gaming consoles work out to 0 hours, which indicates they’re not as widely adopted and many people never or rarely use them, but those who do use tablets and consoles net a mean time of about an hour each day.

Average time spent by internet activity

Is our screen time due to obligation or choice? Well, it’s a bit of both. Time spent on work (2h 31m) and email (1h 26m) suggests some screen use is unavoidable—but we often spend just as much, if not more, on things we actively choose, like streaming TV (2h 35m), movies (2h 1m), and gaming (1h 25m).

While arguments could be made for the utility and necessity of smartphones and computers, TV viewership and gaming usually falls under entertainment or relaxation, even if it’s coupled with information, education, or socializing.

Though we shouldn’t restrict our activities solely to what’s productive (we all need to kick back and relax), we should be mindful about how much screen time we’re getting, and what we’re spending that time on.

It’s worth mentioning that not every generation has the same (extreme) screen time habits, being as how the internet, social media, and global connectivity are relatively recent phenomena in human history. Baby boomers saw the advent of the internet in their adult lives as a new technology, and by contrast, Gen Z never knew a world without it.

Let’s take a look at how screen time breaks down by generation.

Screen time by generation

Younger generations clock more time on every device than older generations, which makes sense from a tech-adoption standpoint, but the differences can be staggering: Gen Z spends over 4 hours a day on their smartphones—nearly twice as much as Baby Boomers.

Since growing up alongside the internet, computers, tablets, and TVs proves to lead to far greater screen time, we can assume a greater impact on a person’s well-being. But when can we know how much screen time is too much for our children or ourselves?

“I tell parents that screen time becomes an issue when it starts crowding out essentials like sleep, exercise, homework, or family time. I often recommend the American Academy of Pediatrics' free Family Media Plan, which helps families create healthy tech habits and set screen-free zones."
— Dr. Ryan Egan, Child Psychologist

While what we do on screens may justify some of our time spent, it’s up to us to be mindful of our screen time. It’s important to know the difference between necessary and excessive use, and to adapt our habits for a healthier, more balanced lifestyle.

Reviews.org surveyed 1,000 Americans 18 years and older with a +/- 4% margin of error and a confidence level of 95%. The survey results were weighted to reflect characteristics of the United States population using available data from the US census.

For generational age ranges, we refer to Pew Research.