Report: 83% of Americans Wish They Spent Less Time on Their Phone

Social media posts, emails, news updates . . . the list of things we do on our phones goes on and on. It’s no surprise, then, that many Americans are looking to cut back on the time they spend staring at a screen.

But wanting to scroll less and actually doing it are two different things. At Solitaired, we know just how easy it is to be absorbed by our phones. We also know that not all screen time is created equal. Many people are replacing endless scrolling with more intentional digital activities, such as playing a quick game of Spider Solitaire, completing a FreeCell game, or engaging in other focused forms of entertainment. That's why we set out to learn about Americans' efforts to cut back on screen time.

To do this, we surveyed Americans across the country and asked a variety of questions including how much time they spend in a typical day on their phone, how much time they would like to spend ideally, what areas of their lives are negatively impacted by scrolling, what methods they try to reduce screen time, and more. Read on to learn more about our findings.

Key Takeaways

• 83% of Americans wish they spent less time on their phone.
• The average person spends about 4 hours scrolling on their phone each day.
• 64% want to cut down their scrolling time to less than two hours a day.
• 70% have recently tried to reduce their screen time.
• 41% were only able to reduce it a little, while 9% reduced it a lot.
• 1 in 5 Americans tried to cut back their screen time but failed to reduce it at all.

Americans’ Efforts to Cut Back on Screen Time

It's one thing to admit you spend too much time on your phone and another to actually do something about it. The desire to cut back, though, is nearly universal. We found that 83% of Americans wish they spent less time on their phone, and it's easy to see why.

The average person spends about 4 hours scrolling on their phone each day. That might not sound alarming on its own, but it adds up fast. Over the course of a year, the average American spends 1,460 hours scrolling, which works out to about 61 days, or roughly two full months, lost to the screen.

For most people, the goal is moderation rather than going cold turkey. Among those who want to cut down their scrolling time, 64% would like to keep it under two hours a day. And plenty have already taken a swing at it, as 70% of Americans say they've recently tried to reduce their screen time.

While many people have made the attempt, not all have been successful in cutting back. Of those who made the effort, 41% were only able to reduce their screen time a little, while just 9% managed to cut it a lot. Even more telling, 1 in 5 Americans tried to cut back but failed to reduce their screen time at all. In fact, more than two-fifths of Americans feel that, in some ways, the situation is out of their control.

The struggle doesn't only affect the person holding the phone, either. We found that 76% of Americans have felt ignored or frustrated because someone was scrolling while spending time with them, and nearly 2 in 5 people have been called out by someone else for spending too much time on their own phone. So whether we're the one scrolling or the one being ignored, the habit has a way of touching everyone in the room.

When it comes to the apps Americans are trying to quit, we weren’t surprised to learn many people struggle to quit social media platforms like Instagram (39%) and TikTok (38%). We were surprised, however, to learn that the top app people are struggling to quit is YouTube (40%).

Impacts of Excessive Scrolling and Methods to Reduce Habits

A lot of the desire to scroll less comes down to how all that screen time makes us feel. After long periods of scrolling, 44% of Americans say they feel mentally drained, 1 in 3 feel numb or disconnected, and nearly 1 in 3 people feel guilty.

Those feelings add up. A third of Americans say their screen time frequently has a negative effect on their mental health, which helps explain why so many are eager to set the phone down in the first place.

Knowing when we're most likely to overdo it can make the habit easier to catch. We found that 37% of Americans say they're most likely to scroll more than they'd like while lying in bed at night. Boredom is another common trigger, as nearly 1 in 4 say they scroll too much simply because they have nothing else to do.

To wrap up our study, we turned our attention to the methods Americans have tried to reduce the time they spend staring at a screen. Topping the list with more than 2 in 5 people reporting it is turning off notifications. This is followed by setting "no phone" hours or routines (37%) and keeping their phone out of the bedroom (35%).

For some, summer is the season to hit reset as 1 in 5 people say they are able to disconnect more from their phone during this time of year. In fact, 1 in 3 Americans plan to do a digital detox this summer, trading a bit of screen time for a break they're hoping will stick.

Find Meaningful Uses for Screen Time

Phones have become a part of our everyday lives, so it’s only natural that some Americans are struggling to draw the line on usage. Cutting back on scrolling doesn’t have to mean putting your phone away entirely. For some, it’s about finding more meaningful uses for that screen time, the kind that feels like a choice instead of a habit.

Trading a few minutes of mindless scrolling for a hand of Solitaire or another low-stakes game challenges your brain and gives it something to focus on. At Solitaired, we find that turning to an engaging game keeps us away from doom scrolling on social media.

So the next time you’re lying in bed struggling to fall asleep or sitting on your couch bored, try your hand at a game of Gin Rummy, Golf Solitaire, or Canfield Solitaire to keep yourself entertained without feeling guilty about the extra screen time.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn about Americans' scrolling habits and their efforts to reduce screen time. To do this, we surveyed 1,203 people across the U.S. and asked a variety of questions including how much time they spend on their phone each day on average, if they've made efforts to reduce scrolling and screen time in the past year, how those efforts went, how their screen time impacts areas of their life, and more.