Young Americans Spend More than 10 Hours Per Day Using Technology

A new study by a consumer saving website has discovered the average 18 to 30 year old American spends, on average, 10 hours and 16 minutes in front of an electronic device or screen every day.

The website CouponCodesPro.com conducted the study as part of ongoing research into how Americans interact with their technology and gadgets; following a recent increase in searches on the website for technology discounts, including cellular phones, televisions and computers. 2,592 American citizens aged 18 and over, all of whom stated they had a full time job, were quizzed about how they interacted with the technology in their lives on a daily basis.

Initially all respondents were asked to state ‘Do you feel competent using the latest pieces of technology?’ and were told to take into account cellular phones, computers and any other items they tended to encounter in their daily lives. Almost three quarters of respondents, 73 percent, said ‘yes’. All respondents were then asked to state roughly how many gadgets they used on a daily basis, and were told to consider all items they used in their personal time as well as whilst at work. Once all of the results were collated, it appeared that the average American uses five pieces of technology each day.

All respondents were then asked to state which tasks they undertook the most throughout the day through technology. When provided with a list of possible responses and told to select all that applied, the top five results were as follows:

Texting – 91 percent
Using a computer at work – 85 percent
Watching the television – 83 percent
Using a computer at home – 61 percent
Checking social media (via phone/tablet/computer) – 44 percent

Following on from this, all respondents were asked to guess roughly how long they spent using technology throughout the day, whether it was in their personal time or at work. At the same time, each respondent was asked to state their age in order to determine any differences. Once all of the results were collated, the results showed that those aged between 18 and 30 spend an average of 10 hours and 16 minutes per day using technology, whilst those over the age of 30 spend just 6 hours and 07 minutes – a difference of 4 hours and 9 minutes.

In the study, 92 percent of the respondents aged 18 to 30 admitted they couldn’t go a single day without technology, whether it was to keep in touch with family and friends, carry out their job or simply to keep themselves entertained. Similarly, 52 percent of those over the age of 30 also stated that they wouldn’t be able to go a single day without using gadgets and gizmos.

When asked if they felt they were overly dependent on technology, 47 percent of the total respondents admitted that they were. Furthermore, 52 percent said they would actually like to spend less time using gadgets.

“The world seems to have forgotten that technology wasn’t so easily accessible ten or twenty years ago and we managed to get through our day-to-day lives without it just fine,” said Nick Swan, CEO of CouponCodesPro.com. “With gizmos and gadgets replacing everyday tasks, we rush through life, becoming dependent on objects and only when we don’t have them do we truly appreciate how lucky we have it. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that there was ever a time without cellular phones, computers, sat navs and all sorts. It begs the question; what’s it going to be like in another ten or twenty years?”