is 5 hours of screen time bad?
no verdict on health, just the ranking, by age.
70th percentile
5 hours of phone screen time a day is less than most for americans aged 21–24: 30% of people that age are on their phone less, and 70% are on it more. the typical person that age is on their phone 6h 20m. whether it's "bad" depends on what it replaces; this page only measures how it ranks against people your age.
5 hours a day, at every age
the right-hand column is the share of americans in each age group who are on their phone more than 5 hours a day.
| age | typical | on it more than 5h |
|---|---|---|
| 13–15 | 5h 30m | 58% |
| 16–17 | 6h 30m | 72% |
| 18–20 | 6h 40m | 74% |
| 21–24 | 6h 20m | 70% |
| 25–29 | 5h 30m | 58% |
| 30–35 | 5h | 50% |
check your own number
your number is in settings → screen time. less is better here, so a high percentile means less screen time than most.
nearby
how this is worked out
United States, ages 21-24: lognormal, median 380 min/day, σ 0.45, chosen to match the published centre and spread in the sources; breakpoints are the world curve's own (every wheel edge). A modelled curve anchored to published US figures, not a fit to microdata;
- Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use · Common Sense Media, 2023
questions people ask
- Is 5 hours of screen time bad?
- Against people your age it is less than most: at 21–24, 30% of americans are on their phone less and 70% more. We rank it; we do not call it healthy or unhealthy.
- Is 5 hours of screen time a lot for a teenager?
- For americans aged 13–15, 58% are on their phone more than 5 hours; the typical teen that age is on 5h 30m a day.
- What share of people hit 5 hours of screen time?
- At 21–24, about 30% of americans use their phone less than 5 hours a day, so 70% use more.
- How much do 30 year olds use their phone?
- The typical american aged 30–35 is on their phone 5h a day, and 50% of them are on it more than 5 hours.
that's one number. behind scores eight.
money, looks, height, popularity, screen time and more, each ranked against everyone born your year in the country you grew up in. one card, about two minutes.
see your card on the app store