How Much Time Does the Average Person Spend on the Internet?
Whether it’s to stay in touch with loved ones, keep up with the latest news, or find entertainment, it’s clear that there are plenty of reasons people worldwide use the internet. Plus, with the amount of time spent on social media increasing year after year, it should come as no surprise that internet screen time has also been rising.
So then, how much time does the average person spend on the internet these days?
How much time do people spend online: key statistics
- As of Q1 2024, the average person spends six hours and 31 minutes online every day.
- At just under 9.5 hours, internet users from South Africa spend the most amount of time on the internet every day.
- People in Japan spend the least amount of time online, at three hours and 57 minutes a day.
Time spent online daily: Q1 2022–Q1 2024
|
Quarter |
Daily time spent online |
|
Q1 2022 |
409 minutes (6 hours 49 minutes) |
|
Q2 2022 |
397 minutes (6 hours 37 minutes) |
|
Q3 2022 |
396 minutes (6 hours 36 minutes) |
|
Q4 2022 |
395 minutes (6 hours 35 minutes) |
|
Q1 2023 |
400 minutes (6 hours 40 minutes) |
|
Q2 2023 |
401 minutes (6 hours 41 minutes) |
|
Q3 2023 |
400 minutes (6 hours 40 minutes) |
|
Q4 2023 |
395 minutes (6 hours 35 minutes) |
|
Q1 2024 |
391 minutes (6 hours 31 minutes) |
How much time do people spend online in 2024?
Recent research figures show that in the first quarter of 2024, the average time spent on the internet per person was 391 minutes (six hours and 31 minutes) per day. This was a four-minute decrease from the previous quarter and the quarter during which internet users spent the least amount of time spent online since Q1 2022. It also marked an annual decrease of nine minutes from Q1 2023’s time spent on the internet.
The trend of time spent online shows this has generally been decreasing every quarter. In Q1 2022, consumers spent nearly seven hours (six hours and 49 minutes) online per day. This fell by 12 minutes to six hours and 37 minutes in Q2 2022, before falling marginally by one minute per quarter to reach six hours and 35 minutes by Q4 2022.
On average, internet users worldwide spent 399.25 minutes every day online in 2022. In comparison, the average in 2023 was 399 minutes—marginally lower than the previous year.
Average time spent online by country
|
Country |
Daily time spent online (Q1 2024) |
|
1. South Africa |
9 hours 27 minutes |
|
2. Brazil |
9 hours 8 minutes |
|
3. Philippines |
9 hours |
|
4. Argentina |
8 hours 34 minutes |
|
5. Russia |
8 hours 32 minutes |
The amount of time spent online differs from country to country. For instance, the latest statistics on time spent online show that internet users in South Africa currently spend the most amount of time online. At 567 minutes each day, that’s nine hours and 27 minutes in total, and 176 minutes (just under three hours) more than the global average of six hours and 31 minutes.
This is followed by Brazil, where internet users are online for 548 minutes (nine hours and eight minutes) daily, and the Philippines, at 540 minutes. Argentina and Russia wrap up the top five with just over 8.5 hours per day each.
On the other end of the spectrum is Japan. People there go online for just 237 minutes every day—2.5 hours less than the average worldwide. This is followed by Denmark and France at 304 minutes and 317 minutes, respectively.