SidestepHow much time scrolling takes from us
The average person spends 2 hours and 21 minutes a day on social media. What that means in days, and how to find out how much time you spend.
According to data collected by Statista, in 2025 we spent an average of 2 hours and 21 minutes a day on social media. Europeans a little less, around 1 hour and 48 minutes. The numbers vary between studies, but they all point the same way: it’s several hours a day.
How much that is in a year
2 hours and 21 minutes a day is 141 minutes. Multiplied by 365 days, that’s about 858 hours, or 36 full days a year. Not working days, but days of 24 hours. Over ten years, it adds up to almost a whole year.
Some of that time is useful, of course: messages, making plans, friends’ posts. But most of it goes not to that, but to content an algorithm picks for us, mostly Reels and Shorts.
How to check your own time
- On your iPhone, open Settings › Screen Time.
- Tap See All App & Website Activity and choose Week.
- Under Most Used, look at Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Multiply the number by 365 and divide by 24. That’s how many days a year they take from you. On our site, a slider does the maths for you.
What helps
What helps most is removing the part that keeps you in, and keeping the part you open the app for in the first place. For most people, that’s messages and friends’ posts. That’s why Sidestep removes Reels, Shorts and suggestions, and leaves everything else.