Between scrolling, notifications, and messages, smartphones can be hard to put down. Just over half of U.S. adults say they spend too much time on their smartphone, according to a Pew Research Center survey from May and June 2026. About a third of adults say their smartphone use is about right, while just 3% say they spend too little time using these devices.
| Too much | About the right amount | Too little | Group | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults | 53 | 36 | 3 | All |
| Ages 18-29 | 70 | 20 | 2 | Ages |
| 30-49 | 64 | 29 | 2 | Ages |
| 50-64 | 49 | 43 | 3 | Ages |
| 65+ | 25 | 54 | 3 | Ages |
Younger adults stand out for describing their smartphone use as excessive. Seven-in-ten adults under 30 say they spend too much time on it, as do about two-thirds of those ages 30 to 49. Roughly half of those ages 50 to 64 and a quarter of those 65 and older say the same.
Are Americans cutting back on their smartphone time?
While many Americans feel their phone takes up too much of their time, are they doing anything about it?
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Yes | 45 |
| No | 46 |
| Do not have a smartphone | 7 |
| Among U.S. adults who’ve tried to cut back in the past 12 months, % who say they were __ at cutting back on the time they spend on their smartphone | |
| NET extremely/very successful | 25 |
| Somewhat successful | 52 |
| NET not too/not at all successful | 23 |
In our survey, 45% of U.S. adults say they’ve tried to cut back on their smartphone use over the past 12 months. A nearly identical share (46%) says they have not tried to do so.
Not surprisingly, those who feel they spend too much time on their smartphone are more likely to say they’ve tried to cut back. Among this group, 62% say this.
Still, wanting to cut back and actually doing it are different things. We also asked those who’ve tried to cut back how successful their efforts were.
Among this group, a quarter say they were extremely or very successful at cutting back on the time they spend on their smartphone. Another 52% say they were somewhat successful. Roughly a quarter of these Americans (23%) say they were not too or not at all successful at cutting back.
Adults under 50 are far more likely than older Americans to say they’ve tried to cut back their smartphone use. Roughly six-in-ten adults in this age group say this, compared with about four-in-ten among those ages 50 to 64 and an even lower share among those 65 or older.
Success at limiting smartphone use, meanwhile, varies little by age among those who have tried to cut back.
| Demographic | Percentage |
|---|---|
| All U.S. Adults | 45 |
| Ages 18-49 | 58 |
| 50-64 | 39 |
| 65+ | 23 |
Who uses their smartphone ‘almost constantly’?
Despite concerns about screen time, smartphones remain a regular feature of daily life. In fact, about one-in-four adults say they’re on their smartphones “almost constantly.” Another 60% say they use their smartphone several times a day.
Adults under 30 are the most likely age group to describe their smartphone use as almost constant, with 42% saying this. Still, a third of adults ages 30 to 49 say they use their smartphones almost constantly, as do 21% of those ages 50 to 64.
A smaller share of adults ages 65 and older report using their smartphone almost constantly (9%).
| Group | Almost constantly | Several times a day | About once a day | Several times a week or less | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults | group1 | 26 | 60 | 3 | 2 |
| Ages 18-29 | group2 | 42 | |||
| 30-49 | group2 | 33 | |||
| 50-64 | group2 | 21 | |||
| 65+ | group2 | 9 |
What impact do smartphones have on Americans’ lives?
Americans see both benefits and downsides when asked about the impact that smartphones have on people’s lives.
| Helps | Hurts | Neither helps nor hurts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How informed they are | 73 | 3 | 15 |
| How connected they feel to others | 51 | 12 | 29 |
| How productive they are | 30 | 34 | 27 |
| Their mood | 18 | 22 | 51 |
| How much sleep they get | 5 | 41 | 46 |
On one hand, people widely see smartphones as helping them stay informed and connected. Roughly three-in-four adults say their smartphone helps them stay informed, and about half say it helps them feel connected to others. Far fewer say these devices hurt these aspects of their lives.
Views are more mixed when it comes to productivity. Relatively similar shares say their smartphones help, hurt or have no impact on their productivity.
Americans are also about equally likely to say smartphones help and hurt their mood. But the largest share of adults – about half – say phones neither help nor hurt this.
Sleep stands out as the clearest perceived downside of smartphones that we asked about. Much larger shares say their smartphones hurt than help the amount of sleep they get (41% vs. 5%). Still, nearly half say their phone has no impact on their sleep.
Age is again a big factor in Americans’ views on these questions.
| Ages 65+ | 50-64 | 30-49 | 18-29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How much sleep they get | 14 | 36 | 52 | 62 |
| How productive they are | 15 | 28 | 43 | 49 |
| Their mood | 8 | 18 | 29 | 31 |
| How connected they feel to others | 5 | 10 | 16 | 15 |
| How informed they are | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Adults under 30 are the only age group in which a majority (62%) say smartphones hurt their sleep. Still, about half of those ages 30 to 49 also say this.
Views on smartphones’ effect on productivity follow a similar age pattern. Adults under 30 are again the most likely to say their smartphone hurts how productive they are.
Age differences are more modest on other questions. However, adults under 50 are more likely than those 50 and older to say their smartphone hurts their mood.
Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.
