Less sleep, more online: Mzansi tops global list of most time spent on phones

Research finds most South Africans spend more than 56% of their daily waking hours looking at screens

18 April 2024 - 12:15
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South Africans are also top users on social media. Stock photo.
South Africans are also top users on social media. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/Oleksandr Serebriakov

Since the 1950s, the societal concern over how glued we are to our screens has been a concern for analysts and researchers. However, there have been many innovations since the dawn of the Telefunken and advances in technology that see us glued to screens in the palm of our hands. 

Recent findings by Electronics Hub found the average person globally spent three minutes more than in previous years on screen per day.

Its team also looked into which countries dominated these increased rates and found South Africans lead the world in screen time, with the average local spending 56.80% of their daily waking hours looking at a screen.

South Africans spend the most time on screen, at an average of 9 hours and 24 minutes per day.
South Africans spend the most time on screen, at an average of 9 hours and 24 minutes per day.
Image: Supplied

South Africans are the biggest fans of looking at their phones, spending 31.72% of their waking hours on them.

Unsurprisingly, they top the list of social media devotees too, excluding TikTok that sees the UK, US and Mexico dominate the top 20.

The top 10 countries with the highest amount of time spent on social media, with South Africa leading.
The top 10 countries with the highest amount of time spent on social media, with South Africa leading.
Image: Supplied
South Africa dodges the top 20 countries with the highest number of TikTok watches.
South Africa dodges the top 20 countries with the highest number of TikTok watches.
Image: Supplied

To determine the average screen time by country, experts at Electronics Hub reviewed 2024 data from Data Reportal and Sleep Cycle. They ranked countries based on the average daily hours spent looking at screens as a percentage of average waking hours.

The team also ranked countries based on different types of screen time across different devices and media platforms.

The data is as of March 2024.


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