• Posted October 30, 2024

Half of U.S. Teens Stare at Screens More Than 4 Hours Per Day

Half of young Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 spend at least four hours each day on their smartphones, computers or televisions, a new survey shows.

"As technology has become more integrated into teenagers’ lives, the time spent in front of screens has continued to rise in the United States," noted a team of researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All of that screen time might not be great for teens' psyches: The research found that while about 27% of teens who had four or more hours per day of screen time said they'd had anxiety over the past two weeks, that was true for only 12.3% of teen with fewer hours spent looking at screens.

Self-reported depression levels were also much higher (about 26%) among teens who consumed four hours or more of screen time than those who didn't (9.5%).

The new data comes from answers given by U.S. teens to a federal survey conducted between mid-2021 and the end of 2023.

The survey found little difference in screen use by gender -- just over 48% of boys watched TV or stared at their phones or computers for four or more hours per day, as did 52.5% of girls.

Screen time did seem to rise with age, however: While 45.6% of kids ages 12 to 14 spent four or more hours daily on media, that rose to 55% among 15- to 17-year olds, the survey showed.

Only a small percentage of teens -- about 27% -- are looking at screens for two or fewer hours per day.

Family income levels didn't seem to matter when it came to the time teenagers spent on TVs, phones and computers, the researchers noted.

Location did matter, however: Urban kids were more prone to be looking at screens for four-plus hours each day compared to rural teens, with rates of 51.4% and 43.3%, respectively.

The new report was led by Amanda Ng, of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Her team noted that in prior research, "High levels of screen time have been linked with adverse health outcomes, including poor sleep habits, fatigue and symptoms of anxiety and depression."

The findings were published Oct. 30 as an NCHS Data Brief.

More information

There's more on recommendations on media and children at the American Academy of Pediatrics.

SOURCE: NCHS Data Brief, Oct. 30, 2024