There are currently over 6.6 billion smartphone users in the world. But how does the time that the average Filipino spends on their device compare to other countries?
A new interactive calculator created by the experts at Sortlist allows you to discover the average amount of time you spend on devices, the apps consuming the most of your time and how this compares to other countries.
According to the research, the Philippines is the country spending the most time online, with the average person spending 10 hours and 56 minutes a day browsing the internet, which equates to 166 days a year. The Philippines is also the country that spends the most time on social media, with 4 hours and 15 minutes a day equating to 65 days a year.
The average person spends around 52,925 minutes scrolling social media each year, which is a whopping 36 days, 18 hours and 5 minutes.
Sports games are the apps taking up the most of our time, as the average user spends around 23 minutes on these apps, followed by casual gaming (21 minutes).
Looking at specific apps, YouTube is the one we spend the most time on (11 days, 14 hours), compared to the likes of TikTok in 5th place (6 days, 16 hours).
The world’s top 10 countries spending the most time on their screens:
10. Taiwan
Population who use the internet: 90.0%
Time spent using the internet per day: 08:08
Time spent using the internet per year: 124 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 01:56
Total time spent on social media per year: 29 days
9. Thailand
Population who use the internet: 69.5%
Time spent using the internet per day: 08:44
Time spent using the internet per year: 133 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 02:48
Total time spent on social media per year: 43 days
8. Indonesia
Population who use the internet: 73.7%
Time spent using the internet per day: 08:52
Time spent using the internet per year: 135 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 03:14
Total time spent on social media per year: 49 days
7. Mexico
Population who use the internet: 71.0%
Time spent using the internet per day: 09:01
Time spent using the internet per year: 137 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 03:27
Total time spent on social media per year: 52 days
6. Malaysia
Population who use the internet: 40.0%
Time spent using the internet per day: 09:17
Time spent using the internet per year: 141 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 03:01
Total time spent on social media per year: 46 days
5. Argentina
Population who use the internet: 80.0%
Time spent using the internet per day: 09:39
Time spent using the internet per year: 147 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 03:22
Total time spent on social media per year: 51 days
4. South Africa
Population who use the internet: 64.0%
Time spent using the internet per day: 10:06
Time spent using the internet per year: 154 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 03:32
Total time spent on social media per year: 54 days
3. Colombia
Population who use the internet: 68.0%
Time spent using the internet per day: 10:07
Time spent using the internet per year: 154 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 03:45
Total time spent on social media per year: 57 days
2. Brazil
Population who use the internet: 75.0%
Time spent using the internet per day: 10:08
Time spent using the internet per year: 154 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 03:42
Total time spent on social media per year: 56 days
1. Philippines
Population who use the internet: 67.0%
Time spent using the internet per day: 10:56
Time spent using the internet per year: 166 days
Total time spent on social media per day: 04:15
Total time spent on social media per year: 65 days
Why digital detox is important
Nicolas Finet, Co-Founder and CMO at Sortlist has revealed why the calculator was created and the importance of taking a digital detox every so often.
“Over the past 18 months or so we have spent more time behind a screen than ever. As a result of the pandemic, many people have been forced to work from home, spend copious amounts of time on Zoom calls and used their free time to scroll social media and utilise the array of apps at our disposal, but all of this time spent online can build up.
Without even knowing, we spend a lot of time behind a screen and because of this, we wanted to create the calculator to enable users to fully understand the extent of our digital lives and where the majority of our time is spent and how this compares to countries across the world.
In today’s world the majority of day to day tasks are completed online and this isn’t a bad thing, but it’s important that we remind ourselves that there is more to enjoy than just social media and online browsing. Taking a digital detox can be extremely beneficial and there are a number of steps you can take to have some time away from your screen including:
- Deleting social media apps for a short period of time
- Remove notifications from apps to avoid temptation
- Set aside some ‘phone free time’ each day to enjoy other activities
- Taking a digital detox isn’t always easy and temptation can get the better of us, but if you’re persistent and enjoy some time away from your screen, it’s very likely you’ll reap the benefits from doing so.”
You can try the calculator here.
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