In a damning new report, South Africa’s screen time ranks the highest in the world in several key metrics, reports Electronics Hub. Using the latest data from DataReportal and Sleep Cycle, the report on global online screen usage in 2024 puts South Africa at the top in the following metrics.
SOUTH AFRICA’S SCREEN TIME
Mzansi has the highest average screen time in waking hours. Out of 4.3-billion smartphone users globally, it’s emerging markets (like us and Brazil) that spend the most time on their phones/devices. And, sadly, South Africa’s screen time is off the charts at 56.8%, or 9 hours and 24 minutes total (all screens). 31.7%, or 5 hours and 15 minutes, is spent looking at just our mobile phones.
We’d like to add a caveat here, which Electronics Hub is perhaps unaware of. And that is the massive discrepancy in smartphone users in Mzansi. According to GeoPoll, due to the inequalities in South Africa, only 50% of our roughly 60-million population own smartphones. While 40% own only a basic mobile phone.
Nevertheless, more concerning is the fact that South Africans also spend the most time globally doom scrolling through social media. The report confirms that 22.6% of our inordinately high amount of screen time is spent only on social media, roughly 3 hours and 41 minutes. This is, once again, slightly more than Brazil.
CAN’T COMPUTE
Next up is computer time, where Mzansi ranks second behind Russia looking at computer/laptop screens. This makes up 25% of Mzansi’s total screen time, or 4 hours and 9 minutes on average. Arguably, this isn’t the worst statistic, as people tend to be busy and productive in front of a computer. And we already know South Africans are some of the hardest working and most dedicated employees in the world.
TELEVISION TIME
However, once we snap closed the laptop, South Africa’s screen time shocker continues. Because guess what, we then move in front of the television and watch another 4 hours and 5 minutes, for the final 24.6% of our waking hours.
So, if you’re in the 50% of South Africans with a smartphone, television and computer, it’s time to cool it with the screen time. Keep track of your usage and see if you’re anywhere near these worryingly high figures. If you are, perhaps consider cutting down and stepping outside for some fresh air.
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