Australians spend a significant amount of time on screens, with general estimates around 5 to 6 hours daily on devices for adults, while adolescents can exceed 7 to 9 hours, though recent trends show a slight decrease in media engagement as people become more selective. For children, screen time varies by age, but many exceed recommended limits, with significant increases reported in screen-based activity.
Screen Time by Age Group and Gender
Children (3 to 12 years): 2.5 to 5 hours a day. Adolescents (13 to 19 years): 7.5 hours a day. Adults (20 to 59 years): 6.38 hours a day. Older Adults (60 and above): 4.6 hours a day.
The 3-6-9-12 screen time rule is a guideline by experts like Serge Tisseron to help parents gradually introduce digital devices, suggesting no screens before 3 (except video calls), no personal consoles before 6, no unsupervised internet before 9, and no social media before 12, focusing on age-appropriate digital literacy, safety, and balancing screen time with real-world activities like free play and social interaction.
There is no magic number of hours for recommended screen time for adults; however, there is clear evidence that too much screen time can be detrimental to your health.
The 30 x 30 x 30 Rule: Every 30 minutes, look away from the screen for 30 seconds and focus on something at least 30 feet away. This technique helps keep the eyes moisturized and resets your focusing system.
How much daily screen time does Generation Z typically have? Generation Z, born between 1996 and 2010, typically spends around 9 hours a day on screens, which is notably higher than the 7 hours and 4 minutes spent by the average American in 2024.
Choose healthier screen time options for your child by referring to the Three Cs: content, child, and context. Content: Quality screen time matters. The rest of our tips in this post will help you determine what's “quality” content and what's not.
In the forward Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, we used the random-effect inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method and identified that leisure screen time (LST) reduced childhood IQ levels (β = −0.35, 95 % CI: [0.60, 0.10], p = 5.59 ×10−3), while moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) was beneficial for ...
Did you know the average person checks their phone 144 times a day?* That's a lot of distractions. Turning on features like “do not disturb” can help you stay focused,silence distraction and spend less time scrolling.
Can 3 days without a phone really make a difference? Yes, research shows measurable brain changes after 72 hours. Stress and anxiety decrease, sleep improves, focus sharpens, and social connections strengthen.
The physical hazards of excess screen time include eye strain, neck and shoulder pain, and back pain. Mental health hazards include increased levels of depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders.
The 10-10-10 rule is a simple way to give your eyes a break from screens. Every 10 minutes, you look at something about 10 feet away for 10 seconds. This brief pause lets the tiny muscles inside your eyes relax, which helps prevent the tired, dry, or strained feeling that comes from staring at a screen for too long.
The child should look away from the screen about every 20 minutes, focus on an object at least 20 feet away for about 20 seconds. Kids should also get up and walk away from the screen for 10 minutes each hour. What apps, programs or rules do you recommend to help parents keep kids safe on their devices?
The 5 Cs is a mnemonic that can be used to talk to parents about kids and screens. They are: Child, Content, Calm, Crowding Out, and Communication.
The odds of living to 80 in Australia are very high, with life expectancy around 81 for males and 85 for females, meaning many people will pass 80, and data from the early 2020s shows around half of men will reach 80, while women generally exceed it, with recent statistics indicating about 30% of men (and more women) reach their 90s, showing strong longevity trends for older Australians.
Health experts recommend spending no longer than two hours a day staring at a screen, but our research finds that people spend more than double that on their phones daily.
On average, people touch their phones 2,617 times per day, according to a study by research firm Dscout. This number can be as high as *5,427 touches per day for heavy users. That's right, every few seconds our hand goes to our phone.
77% of Americans check their phones more than 10 times a day, with 31% checking them over 50 times daily. Apple users are more likely than Samsung users to check their phones over 100 times a day (15% vs. 11%) 64% of Americans have at least one paid mobile app subscription.
8 Bad Habits That Are Killing Your Brain Cells
Studies have shown that individuals with ADHD may be at a higher risk for screen-related addiction, and that in turn excessive screen time may exacerbate ADHD symptoms. Screen time can have benefits for autistic children that range from the social to the academic.
Some IQ tests—for example, tests used for military draftees in NATO countries in Europe—report raw scores, and those also confirm a trend of rising scores over time. The average rate of increase seems to be about three IQ points per decade in the United States, as scaled by the Wechsler tests.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for babies under 18 months, with one important exception: live video chats. Because they allow your baby to have the kind of back-and-forth conversation so critical to language development, the AAP says video chats are okay.
The "9-Minute Rule" for kids, or the 9-Minute Theory, suggests parents focus on three crucial 3-minute windows daily for meaningful connection: right after waking, right after school/daycare, and right before bed, creating security and happiness by being present and distraction-free during these transition times, according to neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp's ideas. It's about quality over quantity, easing parent guilt by highlighting key moments to foster strong parent-child bonds and emotional well-being, say advocates.
Teenagers with higher non-schoolwork screen use were more likely to engage in infrequent physical activity and to have weight concerns, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, infrequent social and emotional support, insufficient peer support, and an irregular sleep routine.