Media use keeps growing in the United States and globally. For tweens and teens, the amount of time on social media averages more than 4 hours, according to new findings.
“The average time spent on social media ranges from as low as 4.1 hours per day for 13-year-olds to as high as 5.8 hours per day for 17-year-olds,” the national survey report stated. “Girls spend nearly an hour more on social media than boys (5.3 vs. 4.4 hours, respectively).”
Invite youth to track their own media use by going on their smartphones to “Settings.” Click on “Screen Time” on an iPhone and “Digital Wellbeing” on an Android phone to see device use and tap the chart for other details such as use on individual platforms and averages per week.
Print the Media Consumption Facts card that is available as a PDF on the “Resources” page of this website under the Media Use: How Do You Compare? game. Use the card to reflect on media use and what time spent on various platforms brings in terms of mental and emotional nutrition!
