An average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes daily on social media. That equals more than 140 hours a year or nearly six full days spent scrolling and chatting on social media.
Let’s uncover more facts about the average time spent on social media and a breakdown of time spent on different platforms.
Top Picks: Average Time Spend On Social Media
- People spend an average of 2.5 hours per day on Social media.
- Americans spend 147 minutes on social media daily.
- US teens spend an average of 4.8 hours daily on social media.
- Filipinos spend the most time on social media daily, with an average of 3 hours and 38 minutes.
- Facebook users spend an average of 35 minutes daily on the platform.
- The average daily time spent on YouTube is 19 minutes 39 seconds.
- Americans spend an average of 58.4 minutes daily on TikTok.
- The average time spent on Instagram is 33 minutes per day.
Time Spent On Social Media
An average individual spends between 2 to 3 hours daily on social media. This time has remained almost steady over the past years.
How Much Time Do People Spend On Social Media Per Day?
People spend an average of 2.5 hours per day on Social media.
According to the latest data, users spend an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes scrolling and chatting on social media.
This time has decreased by 5 minutes compared to Q1 2022, when an average person spent 2 hours and 29 minutes on social media apps.
The following table displays the average time people spend daily on Social media.
| Year | Average Time Spent on Social Media | QoQ Increase/ Decrease |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2023 | 2 hours 24 minutes | -1.4% |
| Q1 2023 | 2 hours 26 minutes | 1.4% |
| Q4 2022 | 2 hours 24 minutes | -4.6% |
| Q3 2022 | 2 hours 31 minutes | 2.0% |
| Q2 2022 | 2 hours 28 minutes | -0.7% |
| Q1 2022 | 2 hours 29 minutes | 0% |
Source: Data Reportal.
How Many Times Per Day Does The Average Person Check Social Media?
Most Americans look at their phones 352 times a day. The majority of the time, they are either checking notifications on social media or scrolling through them.
That means people check their social media, including texts, Facebook, Instagram, mail, and other sites, once every two minutes and 43 seconds.
Source: Asurion.
50.1% Of The Time Spent On Mobile Is Reserved For Social Media Apps
Facebook is the most popular app, occupying most of social media users’ time.
Some Americans spend around 13 hours and 11 minutes daily scrolling and chatting on social media and other forms of media.
Source: Her Faith Walk.
An Average Person Spends 6 Years And 8 Months Of His Life On Social Media
Based on the latest data, if we look at the time spent by a 10-year-old on social media, they spend at least 3.4 million minutes on social media.
That equals 6 years and 8 months of the lifetime spent on social media.
Note that this number is assumed based on the current usage of social media apps worldwide.
Source: MixBloom.
What Is The Average Time An American Spends Consuming Media In A Week?
The average time Americans spend consuming media in a week is 28 hours. That includes the time spent consuming the internet, listening to music, watching television, playing video games, and more.
Besides, an average American spends 147 minutes per day on social media.
Source: Brainly.
Who Spend The Most Time On Social Media?
On average, females in their teenage years spend the most time on social media.
Let’s take a detailed look at the time spent by different demographics on social media apps.
How Much Time Do Teens Spend On Social Media?
Teens Spend an average of 4.8 hours on social media per day.
Further, 51% of teenagers in the United States spend at least four hours daily on social media apps like YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc.
The average time teens spend on social media ranges from as low as 4.1 hours to 5.8 hours per day.
Besides, the same survey states that teenage girls spend 5.3 hours every day on social media while boys spend 4.4 hours.
The following table displays the average daily hours spent on social media by US teens of different ages.
| Age | Average Hours Per Day Spent on Social Media |
|---|---|
| 13 | 4.1 |
| 14 | 4.5 |
| 15 | 5.1 |
| 16 | 4.9 |
| 17 | 5.8 |
| 18 | 5.0 |
| 19 | 4.5 |
Source: Gallup.
What Age Group Uses Social Media The Most?
Adults in the age group of 19 and 29 use social media the most.
84% of the adults in this age group have their accounts on at least one of the social media apps. This makes them the most active age group on social media.
They are followed closely by adults aged 30 to 49, with 81% having a social media account. Besides, adults older than 65 use social media the least, with just 45% having an account on social media.
Source: Luisazhou.
American Women Are Far More Likely To Use Social Media Than Their Male Counterparts
78% of the women reported using social media compared to 66% of men.
Globally, the gender split of social media users is 53.6% men and 46.4% women.
That’s because women are more vocal, expressive, and willing to share their thoughts. Hence, women use social media sites to connect, share their opinions, and stay in touch with their family and friends.
Source: Luisazhou, Backlinko.
Time Spent On Social Media By Region
The time spent by people on social media varies from region to region. People mostly use social media to chat and connect with family and friends.
This section covers people’s average time on social media in different countries and regions worldwide.
Filipinos Spend The Most Time On Social Media Per Day, With An Average Of 3 Hours And 38 Minutes Per Day
The country also spends the highest time on their phones, accounting for 5 hours and 47 minutes on smartphones.
Indonesia closely follows the Philippines in social media usage, with 3 hours and 14 minutes spent by the residents on Social media.
The following table displays the countries that spend the most time on social media.
| Country | Time Spent on Social Media |
|---|---|
| Philippines | 3 hours 38 minutes |
| Indonesia | 3 hours 14 minutes |
| Malaysia | 2 hours 52 minutes |
| Thailand | 2 hours 35 minutes |
| India | 2 hours 29 minutes |
| Vietnam | 2 hours 17 minutes |
| Singapore | 2 hours 11 minutes |
| China | 2 hours 04 minutes |
| New Zealand | 2 hours 04 minutes |
| Hong Kong | 1 hours 55 minutes |
| Australia | 1 hours 53 minutes |
Source: Statista
South American People Spend 3 Hours 24 Minutes Daily On Social Media
This is the highest time users spend on social media among all the regions.
South Americans are closely followed by Africans, with an average social media usage of 3 hours and 10 minutes.
Europeans comparatively spend less time on social media than people from other regions.
Here is a table displaying the average time spent by people on social media across different regions.
| Region | Average Time Spent by People on Social Media |
|---|---|
| North America | 2 hours and 65 minutes |
| South America | 3 hours and 24 minutes |
| Africa | 3 hours and 10 minutes |
| Europe | 1 hour and 15 minutes |
| Asia/ Oceania | 2 hours and 16 minutes |
Source: Broadband Search
Time Spent on Social Media By Platform
TikTok is the most engaging social media, with users spending most of their daily time on the platform. Other most engaging social media platforms are Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
Time spent on different social media platforms varies according to the users’ preferences and the platform’s engagement level.
Time Spent On Facebook
This section includes details about the time spent by users on Facebook.
How Many People Use Facebook Daily?
2.085 billion users visit Facebook daily. This means Facebook has 2.9 billion daily active users as of 2024.
That is a 5% increase compared to 2023.
Source: Hootsuite.
Users Spend Almost 20 Hours A Month On Facebook
Facebook users worldwide spend an average of 35 minutes daily on the platform. That means users spend an average of 19.42 hours monthly on Facebook, making it the third most engaging social media app.
Source: Social Pilot.
Facebook Users In The United States Spend An Average Of 31 Minutes Daily On The Platform
Americans spend 20% less time on Facebook than five years ago, in 2017. Overall, today, they spend 39 minutes on Facebook every day.
The following table displays the time Americans spend daily on Facebook.
| Year | Time Spent on Facebook |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 31 minutes |
| 2022 | 33 minutes |
| 2021 | 33 minutes |
| 2020 | 35 minutes |
| 2019 | 33 minutes |
| 2018 | 36 minutes |
| 2017 | 39 minutes |
Source: Exploding topics, Statista.
Time Spent On YouTube
The average daily time spent on YouTube is 19 minutes 39 seconds.
Meanwhile, an average person in the United States spends 48.7 minutes per day on YouTube.
Comparatively, the average time spent on YouTube in 2023 was 47.5 minutes per day.
In 2019, the average time spent on YouTube was recorded to be 39.7 minutes per day, which increased to 43.7 minutes in 2020.
Above all, the average time spent on YouTube increased by 10.1% between 2019 and 2024.
The following table displays the time Americans spend on YouTube.
| Year | Time Spent on YouTube |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 48.7 minutes |
| 2023 | 47.5 minutes |
| 2022 | 46.2 minutes |
| 2021 | 45 minutes |
| 2020 | 43.7 minutes |
| 2019 | 39.7 minutes |
Source: Oberlo.
Time Spent On TikTok
Americans spend an average of 58.4 minutes daily on TikTok.
In 2019, Americans spent just 27.4 minutes a day on the platform. However, it increased to 38.6 minutes in 2020. That’s an increase of 40.9% rise in just one year.
TikTok is one of the most engaging social media platforms, and most users spend hours every day just scrolling through the app.
The following table displays the time spent by Americans over the years on TikTok.
| Year | Time Spent by Americans on TikTok |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 58.4 minutes |
| 2023 | 55.8 minutes |
| 2022 | 52 minutes |
| 2021 | 45.3 minutes |
| 2020 | 38.6 minutes |
| 2019 | 27.4 minutes |
Source: Oberlo.
Time Spent On Instagram
The average time spent on Instagram as of 2024 is 33 minutes per day. Comparatively, the users spent an average of 15 minutes daily on the platform.
Over 500 million Instagram users checked the app at least once daily.
Time Spent On WhatsApp
Users spend an average of 33.5 minutes daily on WhatsApp.
Besides, on average, Whatsapp users spend 16 hours and 45 minutes monthly on the app.
This is a decline from 34.6 minutes per day or 17 hours and 18 minutes per month, as recorded in 2022.
The Americans spend just 14.8 minutes per day on WhatsApp.
Source: Backlinko.
Time Spent On Pinterest
People spend an average of just 5 minutes and 49 seconds on Pinterest.
That means people visit the app for almost 6 minutes and go through 6.10 pages in a visit.
Source: Similarweb.
Time Spent On Twitter
An average Twitter user spends 32 minutes per day on the app.
Further, an average American spends 4.4 hours per month on Twitter. This translates to 1.1 hours spent per week on the platform.
Source: Hootsuite.
Time Spent On Snapchat
An average user spends around 31 minutes per day on Snapchat.
It is the world’s 5th most popular messaging app and the 12th most popular social media app.
Over 2.4 million snaps are shared every minute on the app, and over 5 million are made daily.
An average daily active user on Snapchat opens the app’s camera more than 20 times daily.
Source: Oberlo.
Time Spent On LinkedIn
Users spend an average of 7 minutes and 12 seconds daily on LinkedIn.
Users visit an average of 6.4 pages on LinkedIn in a visit. Further, On Average, users spend 17 minutes every month on LinkedIn.
Source: Social Pilot.
Health Effects Of Spending Too Much Time On Social Media
More time spent on social media affects the mental health of the users. They develop a sense of missing out (FOMO) and lower self-esteem. At times, excessive usage of social media may also lead to depression and anxiety due to cyberbullying, negative comments, and more.
People Who Spend More Than 3 Hours Per Day On Social Media Face Double The Risk Of Experiencing Poor Mental Health Outcomes
Recent studies display that social media addiction and mental health issues are co-related and are a bigger concern for teen social media users.
There is a higher relative concern of harm in adolescent girls and teens with poor mental health. Increased usage of Social media leads to various other negative health outcomes, like body image and disordered eating behaviors, cyberbullying-related depression, and poor sleep quality.
Source: US Surgeon General’s Advisory.
Excessive Social Media Use Has Had Negative Effects On Mental Health And Well-Being
According to 50% of the users, excessive usage of social media negatively impacts their mental health.
Using social media for a longer time also harms adults as well. Many adults who excessively use social media reported facing symptoms of depression and lack of sleep.
Other major effects that adults experience due to excessive use of social media are:
- Increase loneliness
- Lower self-esteem
- Increase fear of missing out
- Cause depressive symptoms
- Decrease subjective well-being and life satisfaction
Source: Forbes.
This section includes the general statistics related to social media and smartphone usage.
How Much Time Do People Spend On Their Phones?
People in the United States spend an average of 4 hours and 39 minutes on their smartphones. That means people spent an estimated time of 279 minutes on their smartphones.
This time includes time spent on the internet, games, social media, entertainment, and more. However, over 8 in 10 people spend most of their smartphone usage time on social media.
The following table displays the average time spent by people over the years.
| Year | Average Time Spent on Social Media |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 279 minutes |
| 2023 | 276 minutes |
| 2022 | 270 minutes |
| 2021 | 264 minutes |
| 2020 | 256 minutes |
| 2019 | 225 minutes |
Source: Statista.
