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Study: average American spends 5.4 hours a day on their smartphone

Provision Living conducted a recent study on smartphone screen time. The company, which “provides exceptional services to older adults and their families,” surveyed 1,000 millennials and 1,000 baby boomers to find out exactly how Americans spend hours a day on their devices. 

While you may assume that young adults are more plugged in then their elders, think again. The study shows that both generations record an average of 5+ hours of screen time a day. 

The study shows that the average American spends 5.4 hours a day on their phone. But many are in denial; 82% of people think their personal usage is below that national average.

So where does the time go?

The Provision Living study asked 2,000 millennial and baby boomer smartphone users to go into their phone settings and record exactly how much screen time they’ve spent on their top apps. Highlights include:

  • Forty-eight percent of millennials and 37% of boomers spend 5+ hours on their phones daily.

  • Americans spend an average. of 64.5 minutes a day on Facebook and 48 minutes on Instagram.

  • One in three thought their screen time would be less than it actually is.

  • Two in three don’t plan on cutting back on phone usage.

You can look at the full study to see a complete break down of the top time-sucking applications by generation.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.