About half of Americans say they spend too much time on their smartphone

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/09/01/about-half-of-americans-say-they-spend-too-much-time-on-their-smartphone/

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1375850/about-half-of-americans-say-they-spend-too-much-time-on-their-smartphone

Between scrolling, notifications, and messages, smartphones can be hard to put down. Just over half of U.S. adults say they spend too much time on their smartphone, according to a Pew Research Center survey from May and June 2026. About a third of adults say their smartphone use is about right, while just 3% say they spend too little time using these devices.

105 points · 16 comments · view on lemmy.world

16 Comments

BuckFutter@timeyak.com · 37 pts · 10d (2 replies)

So true, Up voted from my smartphone

ratjefe@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 10d (1 reply)

the irony... 😂

BuckFutter@timeyak.com · 5 pts · 10d

Just like having ten thousand spoons when all ya need is a knife 😂

Sxan@piefed.zip · 14 pts · 10d (1 reply)

"... and the other half are lying."

essell@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 10d

Maybe they were too busy on their phones to answer the survey

Hackworth@piefed.ca · 14 pts · 10d (2 replies)

Having a smartphone with an awful user experience has worked out great. My hatred for its stupid bullshit outweighs my desire to interact with the internet.

DosDude@retrolemmy.com · 3 pts · 10d (1 reply)

Is that just hatred for the os? Or did you gimp your experience with a terrible launcher?

Hackworth@piefed.ca · 3 pts · 10d

I hate the OS, the swipe recognition, the soft keyboard, and the majority of the apps. I know how to fix most of that, I just really can't be arsed to put in the time. I've been living in a kind of stand-off with the thing.

eurodyne@piefed.world · 8 pts · 10d

The other half were too busy responding to a cavalcade of texts, online comments, and other random bullshit

wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 10d (1 reply)

Hey Ron, we need a stock photo of someone holding their phone, but we don't have any on set. Hold this bar of soap and pretend that it's a phone. Just hold it so the logo doesn't show. Perfect. 📸

gingersaffronapricat@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 10d

This is a smart phone with a premium feel, reminiscent of a wet bar of soap. Another notable feature is its fresh scent. Oddly refreshing design

daychilde@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 10d

I don't.

…because I waste it on my desktop computer. :/

01189998819991197253@infosec.pub · 4 pts · 9d

And the other half is in denial

taiyang@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 10d

I'm not sure how I'd rate me. I spend plenty of time on my smartphone but I'm playing SNES/GBA/DS with it hooked up to a controller clip so... not the usual use case of social bullshit ruining my mood. I enjoy the fuck out of a good emulation-in-bed night.

But hey, a few minutes on Lemmy too, of course, as I go through the entire All feed on a few minutes lol

Sludgehammer@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 10d

I don't, it's honestly pretty easy. Step one: don't own a mobile phone.

Sickday@kbin.earth · 3 pts · 10d

is it really so rare to just not really use your phone much in the US? There's days I straight up forget I have a phone