Smartphone ownership has increased dramatically over the years, even among the youngest. Furthermore, smartphone addiction statistics show how this leads to people becoming overly dependent on smart devices.
Colloquially known as ‘nomophobia,’ phone addiction has a somewhat negative impact on personal and professional life. Research shows that it can fuel stress and anxiety while also leading to health issues, such as sleep deprivation.
Reliance on smartphones for online access is widespread among young people. So it isn’t surprising that the below stats show a significantly greater number of ‘addicts’ among the young rather than older generations.
Tech Addiction Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- In 2020, there were around 3.5 billion smartphone users globally
- On average, 90% of Americans are internet users
- By 2025, 72% of the world will access the internet only from their smartphones
- In the US, Gen Z smartphone users unlock their devices 79 times a day
- US employees spend at least 1.4 hours a day on digital content unrelated to their job
- In the US, only 4% of college graduates are dependent on their smart devices
- Almost 88% of people feel nervous if they leave their phone at home
- 59% of American teens have been victims of online harassment
Smartphone Usage Statistics
Mobile phone ownership has increased over the past few years worldwide. Many stats and facts show that the United States is one of the leading countries in smartphone usage and internet access.
1. There were 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide in 2020.
(Statista)
This number surpassed the previous year by 0.3 billion and will almost surely rise by several hundred million in the next few years.
Smartphone usage stats show that China, India, and the United States are the leaders in smartphone usage, with each country easily exceeding the 100-million user mark.
2. 72% of the world will access the internet solely from their smartphones by 2025.
(CNBC/WARC)
The study estimates that 2 billion people on average only use their smartphones for internet access. This WARC forecast suggests that the number will rise by about 1.7 billion in the next few years.
Only a small number, 69 million, are expected to continue accessing the internet using their computers only, facts that suggest more phone addiction in the immediate future.
3. The current number of smartphone users in the United States is 294.15 million.
(Statista)
The 2020 number shows a 6.36 million rise compared to the previous year and a drastic 212.52 million increase from 2010 when the US registered only 81.63 million cell phone users.
The smartphone usage forecast predicts a boost in the current number, expected to reach 311.5 million by 2025, with 17.35 million more than 2020.
4. 85% of Americans own smartphones, while 97% of the US population owns a cell phone.
(Pew Research Center)
Cell phone use statistics show a significant increase in smartphone ownership from the Pew Research Center’s first survey of smartphone ownership conducted in 2011 when the percentage reached a modest 35%, which up to 2021 increased by 142%.
5. Smartphone users in the United States unlock their devices an average of 4.8 times per hour during working hours.
(Statista)
A 2019 report shows that the rate of unlocks per hour escalates during working hours and early evening, reaching an average of 4.8 times hourly on weekdays, and de-escalates significantly toward nighttime, reaching an average of 3 unlocks per hour.
6. Americans check their phones 96 times a day.
(Asurion)
This Asurion 2019 overuse of technology statistics estimate that about once every 10 minutes, which marks a 20% daily increase compared to a similar survey two years ago.
Young adults, 18–24, check their phones twice as much as the national ‘norm.’ However, they are also more aware of their heavy phone use rather than the other age groups and more likely to cut down their time spent on smartphones.
Cell Phone Usage Statistics by Age
The statistics organized by age range, including studies on internet access, mobile phone usage, and social networking platforms, show that young people are the most active technology users.
7. All young adults in the United States use the internet.
(Statista)
Technology use and addiction statistics show that Americans within the 18–29 age group use the internet, closely followed by the 30–49 age range, with 97 percent nationwide.
This nearly perfect 100 percent is decreasing steadily, until reaching 73% for the 65+-year-olds. Thus, on average, 90% of the US population are current internet users.
8. 99% of American teens and adults own a cell phone.
(Pew Research Center)
Cell phone usage statistics by age, ranging from 18-year-olds to 65+, show that nearly all teens and young adults in the United States own a cell phone, out of which 96% have smartphones.
The percentage in any kind of cell phone ownership remains relatively steady, decreasing from the 99%, registered in 18–29 age range, by only 8% toward the 65+-year-olds. However, the fall in smartphone ownership numbers is much more significant: 96% of people in the first age group own smartphones, and only 53% of the 65+ group use smart devices.
9. Gen Z smartphone users in the United States unlock their devices 79 times daily on average.
(Statista)
The latest smartphone usage stats by generation show that Gen Zers in the US ranks first when unlocking their smart device.
Millennials ranked second, unlocking their smartphones 63 times a day on average, while the Silent Generation had the lowest number of daily opens, at about 18 times.
10. 72% of US adults are active social media users.
(Pew Research Center)
The statistics and facts about technology addiction by age show that people in the 18–29 age group rank the highest with 90%. At the same time, social media registers a drastic decrease by 50% in the 65+ age group.
The 50–64-year-olds establish a median between the age ranges mentioned above, at 69%.
11. Younger US employees are more likely to use their phones during working hours.
(Screen Education)
This 2020 stat shows that employees aged 18 to 34 spend approximately 3.1 hours every workday on digital content that has nothing to do with their work.
Cell phone dependency in the workplace diminishes somewhat in workers aged 34 to 54, who spend about 2.4 hours on unrelated digital content and more notably among 55 or older employees. Their average distraction time is 1.8 hours.
Smartphone Addiction Statistics
Facts and stats about phone dependency in the US show variations determined by classifications into age groups, race, and education. Nationwide, surprisingly, the number of technology ‘addicts’ has been falling.
12. Nearly 57% of people feel ‘somewhat’ addicted to their phones.
(Reviews)
Out of 500 people who have been part of the study conducted by Reviews, 56.4% feel they are ‘somewhat’ addicted to their smart devices, while 19% admit they are ‘very’ dependent on their phones.
The same phone addiction statistics show that 24.6% of these people consider themselves ‘not at all’ addicted to their phones.
13. 15% of Americans are dependent on their smartphones.
(Pew Research Center)
The latest data from Pew Research shows that dependency fluctuates from one year to the next, falling from 17% in the year 2019 to 15% in 2021.
Looking at the data given by nomophobia statistics by category, if age, race, and education divide present notable fluctuation in percentages from one group to the next, gender only marks a 1% difference.
14. 87.8% of people feel uneasy leaving their phones at home.
(Reviews)
Statistics show that most people who were part of the Reviews study have nomophobia. Similarly, 65.6% check their phones up to 160 times a day.
Another 65.7% of these 500 people that took part in the survey claim to sleep with their phone at night.
15. 22% of young Americans are addicted to their smart devices.
(Pew Research Center)
Statistics about cell phone addiction show that young adults are significantly more dependent on their smart devices than older people. For example, there is a 10% gap between the 18 to 29 age and 65+ groups.
But while the percentage of young people and adults younger than 49 dependent on their smartphones decreased by 7% from 2019 to 2021, the 65+ age range rate stayed the same — 12%.
16. 25% of Hispanic Americans show smartphone dependency.
(Pew Research Center)
Hispanic Americans rank highest in smartphone dependency with 25%. While the 2019 difference in percentage between Hispanic and African Americans was not significant, only 2%, the difference between them now is 8%.
17. Higher educated people are less likely to become addicted to their phones.
(Pew Research Center)
The cell phone addiction statistics show that only 4% of US college graduates were dependent on their smart devices in 2021, while the percentage of those with a high school education or less was 23%.
Moreover, around 15% of those who only attended college showed phone addiction in 2021.
18. Employees in the US spend at least 1.4 hours daily on digital content unrelated to their job.
(Screen Education)
The 1.4 hours estimate is what respondents in 2019 claimed they spent on content apart from their job during working hours.
Among the smartphone addiction statistics for 2020, this study shows, however, that researchers believe the responders underestimate their addiction and, in reality, spend somewhere between 1.4 to 2.5 hours a day on digital content unrelated to their job.
Teenage Cell Phone Addiction Statistics
Research shows that smartphone addiction among teenagers is the most dangerous from several viewpoints, including lack of focus, mental health issues, and vulnerability to cyberspace bullying.
19. By age 11, 53% of American kids have their smartphones.
(Common Sense Media)
Smartphone ownership increases as kids grow older, reaching 83% by the age of 15, and 91% by 18.
Similarly, teenage cell phone use and ownership statistics show a substantial rise over the past few years, presenting a concerning increase from an average of 67% in 2015 among teens aged 13–18 to about 84% in 2019 in the same age group.
20. Fewer teens feel more addicted to their phones than in previous years.
(Common Sense Media)
A Common Sense Media stat shows that the percentage of teens who feel addicted to their smartphones decreased by 11% from 2016 to 2019, thus reaching 39%. Yet, paradoxically, the rate of parents that are ‘addicts’ is on the rise, from 27% to 45% in the previously stated timeframe.
This teenage cell phone addiction research also shows that everyone belonging to the same household is likely to feel addicted to their smart devices; 56% of the teens saying that if their parents are addicted, they become addicted themselves.
21. 58% of teens in the United States are distracted by their phones at least once a day.
(Common Sense Media)
The distraction through the use of smartphones has a notable impact on daily life. As the cell phone addiction statistics show, 36% of teens wake up at night to check their phones at least once.
Similarly, in 2019, 28% of the parents felt that their relationship with their children was affected by phone addiction. However, a more significant number of parents, namely 55%, thought it had no impact on good relationships, and an even larger number of teens, 72%, agreed with this statement.
22. Cell phone dependency affects the mental well-being of teenagers.
(Bank My Cell)
Teenage cell phone addiction statistics for 2020 show that teens who spend over 5 hours a day on their phones are 71% more exposed to suicide factors, while those spending just 1 hour daily are far less likely to be exposed to this considerable risk.
Depression is another risk factor that smartphone dependency leads to among teenagers. For example, eighth-graders addicted to social media are exposed to a 27% greater risk of becoming depressed.
23. 59% of American teens have experienced online harassment.
(Pew Research Center)
There are numerous articles on harassment online, and particularly on how safe the internet is for kids. However, according to Pew Research Center smartphone addiction statistics, most kids experienced different forms of cyberbullying.
42% of US teenagers experienced offensive name-calling, and 32% were the victims of rumor-spreading. A worrying 16% of young users also experience physical threats.
Phone Addiction – The Bottom Line
Living in a world marked by fast technological development, it is hardly surprising that more people own smartphones now than they did just several years ago.
It is equally unsurprising that the dependency on smartphones—to access the internet, social media, emails, calls, texts, etc.—is a leading cause of stress.
Overall, this reliance on smart devices is very likely to continue in the future; thus, the number of people addicted to technology will inevitably be on the rise.
People Also Ask
Smartphone addiction can happen to virtually anyone, and it is regarded as a 21st century ‘evil.’ It is common for people to feel anxious if they are forced to give up their phones for a short time. This sense of uneasiness at being out without your smart device is known as nomophobia, which means a fear of or anxiety caused by not having a working mobile phone, better said, to not having a phone at all (no-mobile-phone-phobia). Studies show that approximately one in five Americans uses the internet only on smartphones.
Approximately 75.4% of survey or focus group participants admit that they are addicted to their phones, while 65.7% claim to sleep with their phones. Overall, 66% of the US population shows signs of nomophobia. What is more, two in three people claim to be addicted to their phones. Smartphone dependency is a genuine and concerning issue of modern days. The lockdowns in 2020 helped aggravate the problem. People increased their phone usage time by about one hour per day.
The most recent data shows that 58% of teens in the United States are distracted by their phones at least once a day. However, compared to the previous years, fewer teens admit an addiction to their smartphones—39% claim they’re dependent on their phones, which is 11% less than six years ago. For parents, it may look like their kids are addicted or feel addicted to their smartphones. But, in reality, that’s just typical teen behavior. Teens check their phones frequently and feel pressure to respond quickly to messages.
Interestingly, phone addiction and social media addiction are closely linked. It is true especially for younger people, or rather teenagers, who probably aren’t just using their smartphone as a modern variant of an alarm clock, or just checking their emails or even talking on their phones; they’re on social media. Unfortunately, according to a growing number of studies, it looks more and more like this pastime is becoming addictive.
According to new stats and facts released by global tech care company Asurion, Americans now check their phones 96 times a day—that, on average, means once every 10 minutes. Millennials, for example, check their phones on average 150 times per day (Specialists hold their nearly 24/7 use of social media responsible for emojis, use of visuals as a replacement for text (think of memes), and shortening the attention span to 140 characters limit). In addition, men of all ages are likely to check their phones more often (about every 22 minutes) than women (approximately every 26 minutes).
For many people, social interaction stimulates dopamine release (the neurotransmitter of pleasure), similar to drug effect. Because so many people use their phones for social interaction, they become accustomed to checking them more often for that hit of dopamine released when they connect on social media. App developers depend on that urge to keep you checking your device. Some apps even send notifications in unpredictable patterns to maximize that dopamine release. Finally, smartphone addiction statistics show that smartphone use peaks during the teenage years which developers also count on.
