A poll put together by Spinnaker reveals the shocking truth about how much time people spend on their cell phones.

The poll asked UNF students how much time they spend on their phones per day. Students could choose between three options: less than 2 hours, 2-4 hours, or 4+ hours.

Out of the 155 students who participated, 92 of them chose the 4+ hours option, 57 students picked the 2-4 hours option, and only six students chose less than 2 hours.

According to RescueTime’s screen time stats in 2019, most people, on average, spent 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phones. TechJury reported in 2020 that Americans spend an average screen time of 5.4 hours on their phones daily. Did the pandemic in 2020 likely have something to do with this dramatic increase? Most likely.

With those reports in mind, are you really spending “too much” time on your phone? According to Mayo Clinic Health System, the recommendation for an acceptable amount of screen time for teens and adults is two hours a day. This would mean well over half of the students that participated in Spinnaker’s poll are indeed spending too much time on their phones.

If you’re one of the many people spending over two hours on your phone per day, you’re probably asking yourself, “So, what?” 

What are the consequences of too much screen time? Active Health details the negative effects of too much screen time, which include, physical strain to eyes and body, sleep deprivation, loss of cognitive ability, impaired socializing skills, weakened emotional judgment, and more.

In short, most people are spending too much time on their cellphones and it’s harming them in more ways than they may think.

To view your screen time on an iPhone, go to Setting > Screen Time > See All Activity.

To view your screen time on an Android, go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls > Menu > Manage your data > Toggle on Daily device usage.