US teens spend an average of 8 hours and 39 minutes a day with entertainment screen media — TV, online video, gaming, social media, and browsing — not counting screen time for school or homework, according to the most recent Common Sense Census. That is up from 7 hours 22 minutes in 2019, a 17% rise over two years. Meanwhile, the share of teens who tell Pew Research Center they are online "almost constantly" has roughly doubled in a decade. Across both measures, US teen screen time has risen and shows little sign of leveling off. This article summarizes published survey data for general information; it is not medical advice and does not describe any individual teen's needs.
Two authoritative surveys measure US teen screen use from different angles
Common Sense Census (duration). Among teens ages 13–18, average daily entertainment screen media use rose from 7:22 in 2019 to 8:39 in 2021. Tweens ages 8–12 saw a parallel rise, from 4:44 to 5:33. Common Sense reported that media use grew faster in the two pandemic years (2019–2021) than in the previous four years combined.
Pew Research Center (connectivity). In Pew's December 2024 report, 46% of US teens said they are online "almost constantly," up from 24% in 2014–15. Nearly all teens — 95% — now have access to a smartphone, compared with 73% a decade earlier.
The two surveys measure different things — hours of media versus the subjective sense of being online constantly — and use different samples and questions, so their figures are reported separately and should not be added together. Both, however, point the same direction: more time, more often, on more devices.
Video dominates how US teens spend screen time, with gaming and social media next
The Common Sense Census breaks teen screen time into categories. Among 13- to 18-year-olds, the average day in 2021 included roughly:
- Watching TV and online video: 3:16
- Gaming (console, mobile, computer): 1:46
- Social media: 1:27
- Browsing websites: 0:51
Video is the largest single category. Social media, at about 1.5 hours, is concentrated on a handful of apps. Pew's 2024 report found YouTube used by about 90% of teens, TikTok and Instagram by roughly 60% each, and Snapchat by 55%. Pew also found that about six-in-ten teens visit TikTok daily, and roughly half of all teens go on Snapchat or Instagram every day.
The share of teens online 'almost constantly' has nearly doubled in a decade
The most striking shift is the long-run trajectory, not any single year's total. Pew's "almost constantly online" measure — its clearest gauge of intensity — climbed from 24% in 2014–15 to 46% in 2022, and remained at 46% in 2024. In other words, the proportion of teens who describe their connection as effectively continuous has nearly doubled in ten years.
That climb tracks the spread of the smartphone. When Pew first asked, 73% of teens had smartphone access; today it is near-universal at 95%. Constant connectivity became possible for almost every teen, and a growing share has taken it up.
Many teens say they spend too much time on screens and have tried to cut back
Rising screen time is not only a parental concern — many teens flag it themselves. In Pew's screen-time research:
- 38% of teens said they spend too much time on their smartphone; teen girls were more likely than boys to say so (44% vs. 33%).
- About a quarter (25%) said the same about social media.
- 44% reported feeling anxious when they are without their phone.
- Roughly 4 in 10 had tried to cut back on smartphone or social media use, with girls more likely than boys to do so — about four-in-ten or more girls versus roughly one-third of boys.
These self-reports suggest meaningful ambivalence among teens, not uniform enthusiasm.
Why researchers say teen screen time is relevant to health
Major pediatric guidance treats heavy recreational screen use as a health-relevant behavior, largely because of what it can displace. The American Academy of Pediatrics frames sleep, physical activity, and in-person relationships as interconnected and recommends that families make sure screen time does not crowd these out — rather than fixating on a single hour limit.
The concerns most consistently raised in the literature:
- Sleep. Teens ages 14–17 need 8–10 hours of sleep nightly, per AAP. Evening device use can delay sleep onset and reduce sleep quality, and peer-reviewed longitudinal research has linked higher screen time to disrupted sleep and elevated depressive symptoms over time.
- Mood. Some studies associate higher recreational screen time with more reported anxiety and depression symptoms, particularly when screens replace in-person interaction, sleep, or physical activity. Findings on specific hour thresholds are mixed.
Two cautions are essential, and they are why this is not medical advice. First, most of this evidence is correlational — it shows associations, not proof that screens directly cause harm. Second, *what* teens do on screens, and what the time displaces, likely matters more than raw hours. Concerns about an individual teen's screen use, sleep, or mood are best discussed with a qualified healthcare professional.
What these screen-time figures can and cannot tell us
These numbers deserve careful reading.
- Different instruments. Common Sense measures hours of entertainment media; Pew measures self-described connectivity and platform use. They are complementary, not interchangeable, and should not be combined.
- Self-report. Both rely on teens estimating their own behavior, which can be unreliable; passive-tracking studies often find people underestimate actual phone use.
- Timing. The 8:39 duration figure is from a 2021 survey conducted during pandemic disruption; the connectivity figures run through 2024. A current, apples-to-apples duration update across all categories has not yet been published.
The bottom line on US teen screen-time trends
The convergent signal from Common Sense and Pew is clear: across measures, US teen screen time has risen. Teens average around 8.5 hours of daily entertainment media, nearly half are online almost constantly, and 95% have a smartphone. Many teens recognize the cost themselves. The published evidence points less toward a single magic limit and more toward protecting the basics screens can crowd out — sleep, movement, and face-to-face time. This is a data summary, not medical advice.
Sources
- Common Sense Media. *The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021.* www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-2021
- Common Sense Media. *Two Years Into the Pandemic, Media Use Has Increased 17% Among Tweens and Teens* (press release). www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/two-years-into-the-pandemic-media-use-has-increased-17-among-tweens-and-teens
- Pew Research Center. *Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024* (Dec. 12, 2024). www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/12/12/teens-social-media-and-technology-2024
- Pew Research Center. *How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Time* (Mar. 11, 2024). www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/03/11/how-teens-and-parents-approach-screen-time
- American Academy of Pediatrics. *Average Amounts of Screen Time* (Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health). www.aap.org/en/patient-care/media-and-children/center-of-excellence-on-social-media-and-youth-mental-health/qa-portal/qa-portal-library/qa-portal-library-questions/average-amounts-of-screen-time
- National Institutes of Health (PMC). *Adolescents' screen time displaces multiple sleep pathways and elevates depressive symptoms over twelve months.* pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11964217