There is no denying how entrenched technology has become in our lives today.
Every aspect of our lives depends on some form of technology to function efficiently. Thus, creating a higher chance of severe addiction.
In that light, here are some top technology addiction statistics, facts, and trends.
Top 6 Technology Addiction Statistics (Editor’s Pick)
- 71% of people spent more time on their devices than with their romantic partners in 2021.
- 54% of American teens in 2022 claimed it was hard to give up social media.
- Americans checked their phones once every 4 minutes in 2022.
- 3.8 trillion hours were spent on mobile apps in 2021.
- Young Russians were more addicted to electronic devices than other age groups in 2022.
- 74% of Americans felt uneasy about leaving their phones at home in 2022.
Infographic
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/technology-addiction-statistics/" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/top-6-technology-addiction-statistics.png" alt="Top 6 Technology Addiction Statistics" width="768" border="0" height="780.8" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/top-6-technology-addiction-statistics-1007x1024.png 1007w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/top-6-technology-addiction-statistics.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/top-6-technology-addiction-statistics-295x300.png 295w" sizes="auto"></a>
Tech Addiction Statistics by Device
1. Smartphone addiction is called Nomophobia.
The name is derived from the phrase NO MObile PHOne phoBIA, and it describes the psychological condition where individuals constantly fear being too far from their smartphones.
2. 3.8 trillion hours were spent on mobile apps in 2021.
This was equivalent to Americans spending a third of their waking hours touching and staring at their smartphones.
3. 71% of people spent more time on their devices than with their romantic partners in 2021.
78% of women spent more time on their devices than with their partners compared to 64% of men. Furthermore, 17% of women interrupted bedroom intimacy to check their phones.
4. In 2021, 46% of people spent 5-6 hours on their smartphones daily during their personal time.
Another 22% spent 3-4 hours on their devices, while 16% were on their phones for about 1 and 2 hours. 11% of people said they spend over 7 hours on their mobile devices anytime they have free time.
Social Media Addiction Statistics
Another 29.64% of users checked into the app at least once a week, while 19.9% visited at least once a month.
The other 46% of the respondents said it was easy for them to give up social media.
This represented a steady increase since 2012, with 2021 being the second highest at 145 minutes.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/technology-addiction-statistics/" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/average-time-spent-social-media.png" alt="Average Time Spent on Social Media Sites" width="768" border="0" height="467.10593005575" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/average-time-spent-social-media-1536x934.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/average-time-spent-social-media-1024x623.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/average-time-spent-social-media.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/average-time-spent-social-media-300x182.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
This was followed by mobile gaming, which took 12.75 minutes daily, while entertainment averaged 11.8 minutes.
The respondents, aged between 13 and 18, also mentioned Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram as the other social media sites they would have difficulty ditching if forced.
| Social Media Site | Teens Finding It Hard to Leave |
|---|---|
| YouTube | 32% |
| Snapchat | 20% |
| TikTok | 13% |
| 13% | |
| Discord | 6% |
| 6% | |
| 3% | |
| 2% | |
| 2% | |
| Tumblr | 1% |
Instagram was the second most visited social media site by tweens (10%), followed by Facebook (8%), Discord (5%), Pinterest (4%), and others (38%).
Video Gaming Addiction Statistics
11. 8-12-year-olds spent more time playing video games in 2019 than in 2021.
On average, they spent 1 hour and 27 minutes playing video games in 2021, a slight reduction compared to 2019 (1 hour 28 minutes).
12. More boys (60%) than girls spent much time playing non-mobile video games in 2021.
Only 24% of girls played a lot of console, computer, and portable player video games in 2021.
Likewise, boys were likelier (40%) than girls (31%) to spend much time on mobile games.
Addiction by Demographics
13. 31% of American adults were constantly online in 2021.
Three out of every ten adults in the United States admitted to continually being online. 85% of Americans claimed they were online at least once daily, while only 7% did not use the internet.
14. US 18-29-year-olds were the most dominant age group (48%) constantly online in 2021.
The 30-49 age group followed (42%), while the 50-64 age range (22%) rounded up the top three. Americans over 65 comprised 8% of those who claimed to be constantly online.
15. Americans living in urban areas spent more time online than their rural and suburban counterparts.
37% of urban dwellers in the United States were constantly online in 2021 compared to 30% of suburban and 23% of rural Americans.
16. 13-18-year-olds spent an average of 8:39 minutes on their screens daily in 2021.
Between 2019 and 2021, the average screen time by 13-18-year-olds jumped from 7:22 minutes to 8:39 minutes. 8-12-year-olds also increased their screen times (4:44 minutes vs. 5:33 minutes) over the same period.
17. 56% of children used their smartphones past midnight at least thrice per week in 2021.
This was a vast increase compared to the pandemic period, where only 30.4% of children and adolescents used their devices past midnight.
Tech Addition Statistics by Country
18. Young Russians were more addicted to electronic devices than other age groups in 2022.
17% of Russians aged below 25 years admitted to having digital addiction.
Conversely, only 16% of the 25-34 age group felt the same, followed by the 35-44 age group at 10%, and those older than 45 years (8%).
19. In 2021, 37% of 10-19-year old South Koreans were likely overdependent on their smartphones.
Another 31.5% of South Koreans in their twenties were in the same boat.
20. As of Q3 2022, South Africans spent 9hrs and 38 minutes online daily.
This ranked them first worldwide, followed by Brazil with 9hrs and 32 minutes.
Japan ranked the lowest with just 4hrs per day.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/technology-addiction-statistics/" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-time-spent-online-country.png" alt="Daily Time Spent Online per Country" width="768" border="0" height="659.69935576235" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-time-spent-online-country-1536x1319.png 1397w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-time-spent-online-country-1024x880.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-time-spent-online-country.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-time-spent-online-country-300x258.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
21. 74% of Americans felt uneasy about leaving their phones at home in 2022.
Another 71% checked their smartphones first thing in the morning, mainly within the first 10 minutes of waking up.
| Device Addiction Action | Percentage of Affected Americans |
|---|---|
| Uneasy about leaving their phone at home | 74% |
| Checking their phone when they wake up | 71% |
| Not going more than 24hrs without their phone | 53% |
| Looking or using the phone when driving | 35% |
| Checking the phone within 5 minutes of a notification | 70% |
| Using their phones on the toilet | 64% |
| Texting someone in the same room as them | 61% |
| Feeling anxiety when their phone battery goes below 20% | 48% |
| Consider their phones their most important possession | 45% |
| Looking or using their phone while on a date | 43% |
22. Americans checked their phones once every 4 minutes in 2022.
This translated to an average of 344 times a day.
23. Children (4-18 years old) in the UK spent about 114 minutes daily on TikTok in 2022.
They also averaged 91 minutes on Snapchat and 30 minutes daily on Instagram.
Tech Addiction Impact Statistics
24. 35% of Americans addicted to their digital devices claimed to feel unhappy.
In contrast, 75% of American respondents who did not suffer from digital device dependency were happy and contented.
Other symptoms include using social media as a coping mechanism, feeling restless whenever you cannot check your social media account, neglecting other duties, and withdrawing from acquaintances.
Other potential impacts of social media addiction include increased isolation, reduced physical activities, low self-esteem, and poor work and school performance.
27. Social media use at night impacts sleep.
In early 2022, surveyed people who used TikTok before going to bed took an average of 1 hour and 7 minutes to fall asleep.
| Social Media Site Use Before Bed | Time It Takes to Fall Asleep |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 67 minutes |
| 58 minutes | |
| Snapchat | 56 minutes |
| 50 minutes | |
| 45 minutes | |
| Tumblr | 39 minutes |
| 38 minutes | |
| 34 minutes | |
| 35 minutes | |
| YouTube | 32 minutes |
| No electronic engagement | 25 minutes |
Conclusion
Breaking away from a smartphone, TV, laptop, or gaming console is easier said than done. However, breaks are essential to avoid an addiction trap that may affect every aspect of your life.
In light of that, check out more interesting facts and statistics on social media usage to expand your knowledge.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6510111/#:~:text=Abstract,a%20particular%2Fspecific%20things%E2%80%9D
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/01/12/record-38-trillion-hours-spent-on-mobile-apps-during-2021-in-another-blockbuster-year-for-digital-economy/?sh=558e5b482a42
- https://www.sellcell.com/blog/smartphone-relationship-survey/
- https://www.sellcell.com/blog/smartphone-relationship-survey/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1295269/us-tiktok-user-frequency/
- https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1224510/time-spent-per-day-on-smartphone-us/
- https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/8-18-census-integrated-report-final-web_0.pdf
- https://ijponline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13052-021-01102-8
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1250407/russia-digital-addiction-by-age/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/971487/south-korea-smartphone-overdependence-risk-by-age/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1258232/daily-time-spent-online-worldwide/
- https://www.reviews.org/mobile/cell-phone-addiction/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1124962/time-spent-by-children-on-social-media-uk/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1343753/us-users-addiction-digital-devices-by-happiness-level/
- https://diamondrehabthailand.com/what-is-social-media-addiction/
- https://www.statista.com/topics/9178/social-media-and-teenage-mental-health/#topicOverview
- https://diamondrehabthailand.com/what-is-social-media-addiction/
- https://www.psycom.net/what-is-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-cbt
- https://www.sleepjunkie.com/revenge-sleep-procrastination/
