Data report: How Americans use the internet

Key findings

• 85% of Americans use the internet every day.
• The average American spends six hours and 58 minutes online per day. 
• Social media accounts for about two hours and 27 minutes of screen time daily.
• The average American spends two hours and 37 minutes streaming video every day.
• 7% of Americans still don’t use the internet at all.

Data sources

Americans are more online than ever. Between work, social media and streaming, almost every aspect of our lives will be connected to the internet in 2023. In fact, Americans spend about seven hours online each day, and 3-in-10 U.S. adults now say they’re online “almost constantly.” Here’s how they’re using that time online.

Work means being online for many people

Whether you’re working remotely or in person, most people use the internet daily for work to some degree or another. 

• Most employed Americans (over 71.5%) say they could not perform their jobs without a home internet connection.
• 58% of Americans say they have the opportunity to work from home at least one day a week.
• In 2021, the average American spent 172 minutes per day checking work emails.
• 40% of those who use video calls for work say they have felt worn out or fatigued by the time they spend on them.

Social media

• Internet users worldwide spend an average of two hours and 27 minutes on social media every day.
• Americans use five social media services on average.
• Globally, Facebook is the most popular social media platform, with over 2.9 billion active users, followed by YouTube, Whatsapp and Instagram. 
• Social media accounts for 35% of all time spent online for internet users aged 16 to 64.
• TikTok and YouTube are the most popular social media apps in America, with users spending an average of 45 minutes per day on each one. 
• Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram were the next most popular social media apps, with U.S. adults spending more than 30 minutes per day on each. 

Streaming media

• Americans spend two hours and 37 minutes a day streaming video online.
• 84% of U.S. households pay for an on-demand streaming service like Netflix or Hulu.
• The average U.S. household subscribes to four video streaming services. 
• A quarter of Americans have canceled and resubscribed to the same streaming service in the past year.
• Streaming accounted for nearly 32% of total TV time in May 2022, up from 26% the previous year.
• Netflix accounts for 21.4% of time spent on streaming services in the U.S., followed by YouTube (21.1%), Hulu (10.7%), Amazon Prime (8.2%), Disney Plus (5.4%), and HBO Max (3.0%). 

Increased screen time may have negative effects

• 1 in 3 U.S. adults say they’ve tried to cut back on the amount of time they spend online at some point.
• Excessive screen time is associated with health issues like poor sleep and a greater risk for cardiovascular diseases.
• Using blue-light emitting devices before bedtime can disrupt sleep patterns by suppressing the hormone melatonin.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting children’s screen time to one or two hours a day.