It's official: South Africans are slaves to their screens

When she's not styling hair, Durban hairdresser Thelma Green dedicates up to 10 hours of her day to scrolling through social media platform TikTok.

“When I'm not working, I'm on TikTok. It is my entertainment and my companion. My phone is always fully charged, so I don't miss out,” said 59-year-old Green.

She is part of a legion of South Africans who have become slaves to their screens, spending up to half a day glued to devices, be it computers or smartphones.

A new analysis of digital behaviour and sleep data in 45 countries by technology portal Electronics Hub revealed South Africans have the highest screen time of any nation, using 58.2% of their time awake in front of a screen.

The analysis also found South African users earned top spot for spending the most time on social media, with 22.5% of their day dedicated to scrolling socials.

“I think I lose track of time scrolling and watching videos,” said Green. “I laugh, sometimes I cry. It keeps me company. I love it because if I don't like something I can scroll past it. When I'm not on it I feel stressed and fidgety.”

Electronics Hub researchers unpacked the Digital 2023: Global Overview Report which delves into digital trends, including country-level data for screen time of those aged 16-64.

It also looked at the latest sleep pattern data from Sleep Cycle to find average sleep times for residents in each country, and then it calculated the percentage of awake hours relative to screen time for each category of device.

This exercise showed that countries like Brazil (56.6%), Philippines (54.4%), Argentina (53.8%) and Colombia (53.2%) follow closely in South Africa's footsteps as the countries with the highest screen time.

The research says “mobile devices are often the primary means of accessing the internet in South Africa, with many people using their smartphones to go online.

“South Africa has a diverse culture and offers many entertainment options, but some people may find their options limited due to location or financial constraints. As a result, they may turn to social media and other online platforms as a source of entertainment and connection with others.”

Kerry-Lynn Thomson, a professor at Nelson Mandela University's school of information technology, also referenced the Digital 2023 Global Overview Report to analyse local online trends.

The report shows South Africans spend an average of nine hours and 38 minutes a day online — the highest in the world.

The global average is six hours and 37 minutes.

“A lot of South Africans are online and a lot of the older generation are spending big chunks of their day online,” said Thomson.

“There is no definitive data to say exactly what the older generation is doing online — but most South Africans use WhatsApp and a lot of time is spent streaming TV and videos. 

“Older people are also referred to as ‘digital immigrants’ — meaning they did not grow up with the internet, so perhaps it’s a matter of ‘catching up on lost time’ and discovering the wealth of information that is out there,” said Thomson.

She said increased screen time has made people more susceptible to misinformation and cybercrime.

“Scammers have continued to become more sophisticated and targeted with their social engineering and scams.

“The older generations are often targeted by scammers, particularly financial scammers, as it's assumed they have money in the bank. They are often socially isolated and lonely, making them susceptible to scams through social engineering. There is actually a term ‘age-associated financial vulnerability’ —  very much worsened by being online.”

Thomson said while there's guidance on appropriate screen time for children, there is little for adults.

“There are numerous negative effects of too much screen time, including headaches and eye strain, higher risk of depression, disrupted sleep and an impact on cognitive performance, particularly in people displaying symptoms of smartphone/online addiction.”

South Africans appear to use the internet and screens mainly for entertainment, work, online learning and banking.

She said with most people accessing the internet through mobile devices, it could lead to “doomscrolling” — “scrolling through never-ending social media posts and not having the resolve to stop consuming content”.

Usman Aly, a Johannesburg-based communications specialist for a global company, sometimes spends up to 12 hours a day in front of his computer screen.

“I tend to be not very disciplined. I am at my work screen from 7:30/8am and on it for at least 12 hours.

“I can’t sleep until I watch something — which can be anywhere between 10 minutes and  two hours.

“I use my phone inadvertently when watching TV to respond to or check my social feeds, work and personal.

“If you work remotely, the screen becomes a tool and not just a device. How much time you use the tool to sharpen your skills depends on the individual,” said Aly.

Dr Alvin Munsamy, a University of KwaZulu-Natal optometry lecturer, said excessive screen time can lead to digital eye strain which may cause visual changes, affect sleep due to blue light emissions from LED screens and encourage sedentary behaviour, leading to lifestyle diseases.

Munsamy said people are advised not to exceed two hours of continuous screen time and take a 15 minute break.

He said the excessive use of screens is “concerning as digital eye strain is more susceptible using mobile devices with smaller screens and closer working distances.”