Average Brit will spend nearly 9 years of their life scrolling on their phone
Key Points
- New research from TalkTalk finds the average Brit will spend nearly nine years of their life scrolling on their phone, around double the figure suggested by recent reports.
- Brits spend an average of three hours and 18 minutes a day on their phones, equivalent to more than 20% of their waking hours.
- TalkTalk said 78% of Brits reach for their devices to fill gaps as short as 30 seconds, and almost five million cannot wait for the kettle to boil without checking their screen.
- Scotland is the UK's most prolific region for scrolling on the toilet at 21%, ahead of London at 20% and the national average of 16%.
- Londoners record the most overall screen time at four hours and 12 minutes a day, a full hour above the national average, while 83% of Brits have never set a screen time limit.
The average Brit will spend nearly nine years of their life mindlessly scrolling on their phone, according to new research from TalkTalk.
The broadband provider said its national study shows the average person clocks up three hours and 18 minutes of phone time every day, which it noted is more than 20% of their waking hours.
TalkTalk said this figure is roughly double the screen time suggested by recent reports, which have put the lifetime total at under five years.
TalkTalk attributed the reliance to what it called the “micro-scroll”, a habit in which 78% of Brits instinctively reach for their devices to fill the smallest gaps in their day, some as short as 30 seconds.
The company said that for 30% of Brits, picking up their phone at home is now a purely automatic reflex, and that almost five million people admit they cannot wait for the kettle to boil without checking their screen.
According to the research, 62% of all phone time now takes place at home.
Where Brits scroll
The study also mapped where Brits are most likely to go online at home. TalkTalk listed the most common spots as the sofa while relaxing (52%), the sofa while watching TV (51%), in bed at night (31%), during TV adverts (27%), and in bed in the morning (25%).
Scrolling on the toilet was reported by 16%, followed by while eating (11%), on a phone call (9%), while working or studying from home (9%), and waiting for the kettle to boil (9%).
Regionally, TalkTalk said Scotland is the UK’s most prolific region for scrolling on the toilet, with 21% of Scots admitting to the habit, compared with 20% of Londoners and 16% nationally.
The company said men are roughly twice as likely as women to scroll on the toilet (20.9% versus 12.6%), and that 25 to 34-year-olds are the most frequent bathroom scrollers at 29%.
London led the country for overall screen time, with Londoners averaging four hours and 12 minutes a day, or 26% of their waking hours, which TalkTalk said is a full hour above the national average.
The research also found that 83% of Brits have never set a screen time limit.
“We all know how easy it is to find ourselves scrolling on autopilot, especially when we’re just looking to fill a spare few moments at home,” said Steve Wallage, Chief Product Officer at TalkTalk.
“Our data shows we are spending nearly a decade of our lives lost in these unconscious screen moments, and it is happening right in our living rooms where we’re often already streaming or gaming.”
