Adults Spend 5-Plus Hours Daily on Phones, With 4 in 10 Online Almost Constantly

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 7

A 2026 YouGov survey found most adults spend five or more hours a day on their phones, underscoring how routine heavy screen use has become.
A separate Pew poll found 4 in 10 adults are online “almost constantly,” reinforcing the scale of near-continuous digital engagement.
Doctors cited by the New York Times say that screen time can raise stress, shorten attention spans and even alter breathing patterns through “screen apnea.”
John La Puma, an internist and author, calls those phone hours “ultraprocessed time,” arguing devices are engineered for addictive instant gratification and keep people indoors, where Americans already spend about 90% of their time.

Sources

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