The average iPhone user spends a full work week on their phone, a new report claims

How much time do you spend every day on your phone? There’s a good chance your guess is far off.

A new study published by gaming company SolitaireD this month states that, on average, most iPhone users spend 39 hours and 54 minutes on their phones every week, roughly the equivalent of a workweek (spread over seven days). This comes from analytics taken from 667 iPhone users between August 13 through August 18, 2021.

Perhaps more surprisingly, the study revealed that 78% of respondents underestimated how much time they actually spent on their phones. The average estimate of phone use was 3 hours 42 minutes, but the average actual daily usage time is 5 hours 42 minutes. Most of that time was spent on social media, with an average of 1 hour 23 minutes, along with content consumption (e.g., YouTube or TikTok), web browsing, and online shopping.

Participants also underestimated how often they picked up their phones every day (40 times versus an actual average of 99 times). The study claims that about 20% of smartphone users (roughly one in five) use their phones eight hours a day or more.

All this smartphone use has led to interpersonal challenges for some. According to the study, 36% of respondents cited smartphone use as a cause of tension in a relationship. If this statistic bears out in the general population, that would mean roughly 104 million smartphone users in the United States have faced relationship troubles due to how much time they spend on their phones.

It should be mentioned that this study drew from a relatively small sample size (667 people among over 290 million smartphone users in the United States) and limited the sample to iPhone users. The study relied on users submitting screenshots of their Screen Time analytics after one week of use. However, it does give some insight into what has long been speculated to be a growing problem.

What do you think of SolitaireD’s study? How long do you spend on your smartphone every day? Let us know in the comments.

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