Older Americans are spending more time on their phones than younger cohorts, per new data
Some members of the TikTok generation are (very slightly) less glued to their phones than other adults, it turns out.
When new forms of technology and media have cropped up throughout history, charges of overdependence have often been leveled at their younger consumers.
Dating back as far as the popularization of the novel (tricky as that might be to believe in today’s “post-literate society”), followed by the halcyon days of the radio, now the mobile phone has proved no exception to the rule.
However, young Americans, regularly accused of mindlessly scrolling through never-ending brainrot on their devices, may feel vindicated by new data that suggests the tables may have turned in recent times. Per figures from mobile app intelligence provider Apptopia, 17- to 25-year-olds in the US have actually spent less time on their phones than adults aged 36 and over of late — albeit marginally.
Per the latest batch of quarterly data, the younger cohort clocked some 350 minutes of daily phone use, compared with 352 minutes for the 36 and older demographic. Though the actual difference might be slim, this has now been the case since the end of 2024 and will likely still come as a shock to many. As far as reasons for the surprising switch go, Apptopia’s Adam Blacker flagged young Americans’ efforts to “disengage from technology” and the rise of home device “companion apps” among older users as potential factors.
Meanwhile, broader monthly figures released by the mobile app data tracker showed that the average American now spends 6.3 hours a day on their phone, up some 51 minutes from the 5.5-hour total recorded at the start of 2023. Clearly, the way we use our phones is shifting — from the way we now mostly watch, rather than scroll, social media to our growing penchant for apps that aren’t games. But the amount of time we spend on them is only going in one direction... no matter how old you are.
