Americans stare at screens less than many countries, report finds

Even in the age of TikTok, Americans are behind other countries in the time they spend staring at screens.

The average American spends 6 hours and 40 minutes looking at a screen every day, but that is around 2 hours behind Russia and 3 hours behind South Africa, according to a report from research firm Comparitech, which reviewed data on 50 countries.

Among the 50 countries, America ranked 15th for time spent staring at screens.

Still, Americans spend 2 minutes more than the world average, including around 2 hours more than British people, who spend 5 hours and 36 minutes of screen time per day, Comparitech said.

But there have been recent changes in screen time: Americas spent 23 minutes less on average staring at screens in 2025 versus 2024, compared with countries where use went up, including Russia, India, China, Germany and Poland.

The findings come after staring at screens has been linked to health problems, including eye strain, sleep disturbances and poor posture.

Even heart problems and cancer have been linked to high levels of screen time, BBC reports.

For mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, Americans spend an average of 3 hours and 22 minutes staring at those screens, compared with 3 hours and 46 minutes worldwide.

America ranked 25th among 50 countries for mobile screen time.

When it comes to social media, Americans spend an average of 2 hours and 9 minutes, ranking the country 22nd in the world.

Americans spent around 32% of their screen time on social media and ranked 27th worldwide.

Saudia Arabians took the highest share, with around 43% of screen time spent on social media.

Social media use has increasingly been linked to depression, particularly among young adults.

"Some experts think that connecting with peers online is less emotionally fulfilling than connecting in person," according to nonprofit Child Mind Institute. "Research shows that teenagers who spend more time on social media also feel more isolated."