Screen time calculator: what your daily hours add up to

Move the slider to your average daily screen time and set your age. You’ll see what it adds up to per week, per year and over the rest of your life, and what cutting one hour a day would give back.

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On iPhone, your daily average is in Settings under Screen Time.

Over the rest of your life

10.3 years

of round-the-clock screen time, counted until age 80.

32hours a week
68full days a year
28 %of your waking hours
Cut 60 minutes a day

You’d get back about 15 full days every year, and 2.3 years by age 80.

How the numbers are calculated

  • Per week: daily minutes × 7.
  • Per year: daily minutes × 365, shown in full 24-hour days.
  • Rest of your life: daily minutes × 365 × the years until the age you choose, shown in years of round-the-clock time.
  • Waking hours: daily screen time as a share of 16 waking hours.

It’s simple arithmetic, and it assumes your daily average stays the same. That’s the point: it shows where the current habit leads if nothing changes.

Find your real number

Guesses tend to be low. On iPhone and iPad, open Settings and look under Screen Time for your daily average and the apps that take the most of it. On a Mac, Screen Time is in System Settings. Use the weekly average, not a single day.

Getting an hour back

  • Start with the top two apps. Most screen time sits in a few apps. Set a daily limit for them or remove them from your home screen.
  • Turn off non-human notifications. Keep calls and messages from people; mute the rest.
  • Charge your phone outside the bedroom. It protects your last hour at night and your first in the morning.
  • Block the feeds you can’t stop scrolling. See how to block apps on iPhone and how to stop doomscrolling.

Less social media can also feel better. In one experiment, students who limited social media to about 30 minutes a day for three weeks reported significantly less loneliness and depression than a control group.

Questions

What is a healthy amount of screen time for adults?

There’s no official limit for adults. A better test is what screen time replaces: sleep, exercise, work, people. If it crowds those out, it’s too much for you.

Does screen time include work on a computer?

Screen Time on your phone measures your phone. For this calculator, use the time you’d like to cut: usually leisure scrolling, video and social apps rather than work.

How can I see my screen time on iPhone?

Open Settings and tap Screen Time. You’ll see a daily average, a weekly chart and the apps you use most.

Sources

  1. Hunt, M. G. et al. (2018). No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751–768

General information, not medical or psychological advice. If you’re struggling, talk to a doctor, a therapist or one of the helplines on our responsible use page.

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