Most of us have probably felt guilty at one time or another for getting distracted by our phones. But according to a new study, the problem is worse than many people realise, with the average person spending almost nine years of their life on their phone.
Honestly, we probably didn’t need another study to tell us that we spend too much time scrolling through Instagram, but the numbers in this new report definitely put things into perspective.
The survey, commissioned by mobile comparison site WhistleOut, found that the average American will spend 76,500 hours on their phone over the course of a lifetime – that’s an insane 8.74 years of your life. Or to put it another way, the average US life expectancy is 78.6 years, meaning smartphone users are set to spend well over a tenth of their lives looking at their screens.
WhistleOut came up with this figure by combining the daily phone use of survey respondents – which averaged at 3.07 hours – with the average age at which young people get their first smartphone. With kids on average getting their first phone at just over 10 years old, it seems like we’re getting hooked on screen-time earlier and for longer.
Unsurprisingly, millennials spend the most time scrolling, although the survey didn’t provide data for Gen Z, who probably would have given them a run for their money. Millennials spend an average of 3.7 hours a days – or 50 days a year – on their phones, which, once you take into account sleeping hours, equates to about 25% of our waking lives being spent looking at our phones.
The study compares that to 3.07 hours a day for Gen Xers, and 2.5 hours a day for Boomers, who clearly spend more time on their phones than they’d like everyone else to think.
The survey was published by WhistleOut as part of a campaign to encourage people to find ways to limit their screentime. Suggestions for increasing downtime include using app blockers or monitors, and putting your phone out of reach when in bed.
It’s not news that the world thinks younger generations are obsessed with their phones, but this study shows that, actually, older people can be just as guilty. And to be fair, being on your phone isn’t always a bad thing. We’re more connected than ever, and that’s become increasingly important over the past year. Even so, it’s hard not to wonder what else you could do with those nine years of your life.
