There is growing concern about our relationship with technology. While it has improved our lives immensely, it also serves as a double edged sword. One of the bigger risks that seems to get ignored constantly is technology addiction.
In this article we have gathered a number of technology addiction statistics and facts in order to present how serious of a problem this issue is, as well as give a look on how aware people are, and how they are dealing with it today.
10 Technology Addiction Statistics for 2023
17% of parents claim they are “very often” distracted by their phones when spending time with children.
68% of parents believe smartphones addiction can stop their children from developing healthy friendships.
Castle Craig, in Scotland, has a rehab center for crypto addiction.
Internet addiction is correlated with depression and anxiety.
Facebook and Instagram are intentionally addictive in their design.
Almost half of the 18 to 29 age demographic is constantly online.
86% of children under the age of 12 regularly interact with a TV.
Americans check their phones 96 times a day, almost once every ten minutes.
People from high-income households find it harder to take a break from technology.
Covid leads to an increase in internet screen usage by children.
General Stats and Facts on Tech Addiction
Here you can learn more about the world, and how ubiquitous the different types of tech addiction are.
31% of US adults claim they are “almost constantly” online.
There are multiple types of technology addiction, and one of the most prevalent is internet addiction. According to the Pew Research Center, almost a third of Americans are online constantly. Another 48% go online several times a day, while 6% do about once a day.
In other words, 85% of Americans don't ever spend a day without going online. Only 7% claim they never go online.
(Pew Research Center)
Gamers spend 8 hours and 27 minutes playing video games every week.
One of the most common ways people are addicted to technology presents itself through video game addiction. The aforementioned 8.5 hours present a 14% post-Pandemic increase as well.
Binge gaming increased after the Pandemic as well, where a third of the responders from the multinational study claim they often play for five hours in a row.
(TechRepublic)
68% of parents claim they are distracted by their phones when they spend time with their kids.
In fact, 52% claimed they are distracted sometimes, but 17%, almost a fifth, claim this happens very often. While this distraction level does not vary much by race, there are significant differences when we consider the ages of the parents.
Namely, 75% of parents aged 18 to 29 feel they are at least sometimes distracted by their phones when they are with their children. In comparison, 55% of parents older than 50 report the same thing.
(Pew Research Center)
56% of parents claim they spend too much time on their smartphones.
Another example of technology obsession is the fact that only 36% of parents believe they spend an appropriate amount of time on their phones. Furthermore, 36% believe they spend too much time on social media, and another 11% claim they play video games too much.
61% of mothers state they spend too much time on their phones, compared to 49% of fathers.
(Pew Research Center)
71% of parents believe the potential harm of smartphones outweighs the potential benefits.
Technology addiction facts and data show that people are increasingly aware of the harm and the prevalence of tech addiction.
Of those that believe smartphones bring harm, 71% believe smartphones will prevent their children from developing social skills, 68% will stop them from developing healthy friendships, 54% are afraid it will prevent them from doing well in school, and 46% will stop them from being creative.
(Pew Research Center)
86% of US parents limit their children’s screen use.
Facts about technology addiction also show that 80% of parents use “digital grounding”, i.e. the taking away of a child’s smartphone or internet privileges, as a form of punishment.
Around 75% of parents check the websites and apps their child uses, 72% use some form of parental control, and 33% track their children through some sort of GPS.
(Pew Research Center)
Tech makes it harder for parents to parent.
The rise of technology dependence has had an effect on modern parents. Namely, 66% of parents claim that parenting is harder now than it was 20 years ago. Of this number, 26% state that technology, in general, is the main reason, while 21% specifically blamed social media.
(Pew Research Center)
Feelings of guilt, anxiety, and depression are just some of the effects of online technology addiction.
Further emotional symptoms include a feeling of isolation, the inability to keep schedules, work avoidance, and dishonesty.
Physical symptoms include headaches, backaches, sleep disturbance, carpal tunnel syndrome, weight loss or weight gain, as well as blurred and strained vision.
(PsychGuides)
The first crypto addiction rehab program was started in 2016, in Scotland.
Yes, crypto addiction is a real thing. Hosted at the Castle Craig rehab center for rehabilitation of multiple other addictions, such as gambling and alcoholism, this crypto addiction rehab program has treated more than 250 people since its inception.
(Financial Times)
There is a strong correlation between internet addiction and depression and anxiety.
Technology dependence statistics, along with an article published in the Industrial Psychiatry Journal, also show that low self-esteem is also associated with Internet usage.
The study assessed 200 college students from a variety of universities in Kolkata.
(NCBI)
Exposure to nature helps people fight addiction.
A study from the University of Plymouth has shown that people who are exposed to green spaces find it easier to fight alcohol and cigarette cravings.
They also made a point to emphasise that these cravings have been reduced without physical activity within these green spaces.
(Addiction Center)
Facebook and Instagram are intentionally designed to be addictive.
App developer Peter Mezyk said that “the success of an app is often measured by the extent to which it introduces a new habit”. He further claims that the design idea behind their addictiveness is that they don't fulfill a need but rather only revolve around “negative emotions such as loneliness or boredom”.
(Business Insider)
The Demographics Behind Tech Addiction
Who is addicted to tech the most? How is this addiction distributed among different age groups?
48% of the 18 to 29 age demographic is constantly online.
The “almost constantly online” demographic varies widely by age, and minimally by gender. Roughly 32% of men claim they are constantly online, while 30% of women state they suffer from the same electronic addiction to the same degree.
Only 8% of the 65+ age group claims they are constantly online, compared with 22% of the 50 to 64 age group, and 42% of the 30 to 49.
(Pew Research Center)
17% of parents who have a child younger than 11 years old gave them a smartphone.
Of this number, 6% gave them their phone when the child was between 0 and 2 years old, while 8% gave them a phone between the ages of 3 and 4. Roughly 35% gave their children a phone when they were between 5 and 8, while 51% gave them a phone between 9 and 11 years of age.
It should be noted that parents are aware of the potential for technology dependence, where 40% of parents with children younger than 11 do not let their child engage with a smartphone, and 43% do not let their child own one.
(Pew Research Center)
Parents with a high school education or lower are twice as likely to give their children a smartphone when compared to college graduates.
In comparison, 11% of college graduate parents who have a child younger than 11 let their children own a smartphone.
The major reason parents let their children own a smartphone at such a young age, is that they can make it easy for their child to contact them (78%). Then, 73% claim the main reason is that they can easily get in touch with their child. Only 6% claimed a major reason is because their friends and classmates have phones as well.
(Pew Research Center)
86% of US children under the age of 12 use a television.
Technology dependence statistics also show that 67% of children use a tablet computer, while 60% use a smartphone, on a regular basis. Around 44% of parents claim that their children interact with a gaming console, desktop, or laptop.
The age of the child does matter, however. While 73% of children between ages of 9 to 11 use a desktop, only 16% of children younger than 5 do the same. Similar gaps can be seen for all devices and ages.
(Pew Research Center)
Americans check their phones 96 times a day.
In other words, that's one check every ten minutes. Furthermore, the 18 to 24 demographic checks their phones twice as much as the national average. However, 68% of them are aware of this issue and are trying to minimize their phone use.
These tech addiction statistics present damning evidence of how bad things are, especially when we consider that Americans under the age of 28 spend 44.5 hours a week in front of their screens.
(Asurion)
There is a difference in tech addiction levels among different income brackets.
Namely, 39% of people who are living in high-income households claim they have difficulty taking a break from technology, according to a study. For low-income household members, this number is at 30%. In comparison, a third of the people who were part of the study on technology addiction claimed they had trouble unplugging even when they knew they should.
(Consumer Affairs)
Covid and Tech Addiction
How did covid influence our approach to technology, and did it increase our propensity toward tech addiction?
The Covid Pandemic has led to children spending more time in front of the screen.
According to a paper by the Journal of School Health, 89% of Canadian parents stated that their children exceeded the screen time guidelines (2 hours per day) set by their health authorities after the Pandemic began. In Tunisia, screen time increased by 111%, while it doubled for toddlers and preschool children in Chile to three hours.
This situation might lead to a stronger addiction to technology, as children are getting much more used to being in front of a screen.
(EurekAlert)
Globally people spend an average of 6 hours and 40 minutes online.
This number is very similar to pre-Covid numbers. However, the study conducted by Data Reportal claims that the core reason behind this similarity is the recent termination of China’s strict Covid policies.
In other words, since China, which represents 20.4% of all internet users, relaxed its Covid rules, people are not spending as much time indoors as they did during the height of the Pandemic.
(Data Reportal)
Internet gaming and cybersex have increased during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Technology addiction statistics and data show an increase in these addictive habits. Rutgers states that the two main red flags for tech addiction (or indeed any addiction) are:
People lying to the important individuals in their lives about the frequency of their habits.
People continue to use technology to an adverse degree while being aware they are using it too much and that it is harming them.
(Rutgers)
Conclusion
Tech addiction is a growing problem. Completely removing technology from our lives is impossible, and, honestly, unnecessary. However, the negative effects of excessive usage, like sleep deprivation, a lack of real-world interaction, and lowered physical activity, need to be taken seriously. Setting limits is key if we want to have a healthy relationship with technology.
FAQ
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