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?
Recent research figures show that in the first quarter of 2023, the average time spent on the internet per person was 400 minutes (six hours and 40 minutes) per day. This was a five-minute increase from the previous quarter and the largest amount of time spent online in at least four quarters. It also marked an annual decrease of nine minutes from Q1 2022’s time spent on the internet.
The trend of time spent online shows this has generally been decreasing every quarter. In Q4 2020, consumers spent nearly seven hours (six hours and 56 minutes) online per day. This fell slightly by three minutes to Q4 2021. From Q4 2020 to Q4 2022, the average time spent online peaked in Q2 2021 and Q3 2021, at 417 minutes (six hours and 57 minutes) per day.
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On average, internet users worldwide spent 399.5 minutes every day online in 2022. In comparison, the average in 2021 was 415.5 minutes—16 minutes more.
Average time spent online by country
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 578 minutes each day, that’s nine hours and 38 minutes in total, and 178 minutes (or around three hours) more than the global average of six hours and 40 minutes.
This is followed by Brazil, where internet users are online for 576 minutes daily, and the Philippines, at 549 minutes. Latin American countries Colombia and Chile wrap up the top five with 532 minutes and 524 minutes per day, respectively.
On the other end of the spectrum is Japan. People there go online for just 222 minutes every day—nearly three whole hours less than the average worldwide. This is followed by Germany and Denmark at 311 minutes and 313 minutes, respectively.