How Much Time Do People Actually Spend on Their Phones? Japan's Survey Data

When you start wondering whether you are on your phone too much, the first thing you look for is the average. The catch is that published figures use different populations and different measurement methods, so they cannot be compared directly. Here are the main numbers from Japan, and how to read them.

The main figures in one table

Survey	Population	Key numbers
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, “Survey on Usage Time of Information and Communications Media” (FY2024, published June 2025)	All ages	Weekday internet use 181.8 minutes, ahead of television at 154.7 minutes
Job Soken, “2024 Survey on Smartphone Dependence” (November 2024)	606 working adults	Average use 264.7 minutes; the amount respondents could accept was 197.2 minutes
Children and Families Agency, “Survey on the Internet Use Environment of Young People” (FY2024, published March 2025)	Young people	Weekday average about 5 hours 2 minutes; high school 6 h 19 m, junior high 5 h 2 m, elementary 3 h 44 m
MMD Institute, “2024 Regular Survey on Smartphone Dependence” (July 2024)	10,000 people aged 18–69	62.5% describe themselves as overusing their phone (23.4% heavily, 39.1% somewhat)
SHIBUYA109 lab., “Generation Z Attention Detox” (published March 2026)	574 people aged 15–24	62.2% report phone fatigue; 67.6% want to cut their social media time

Why 181.8 and 264.7 sit side by side

They are measuring different things.

• 181.8 minutes is internet use across all devices and all age groups, including older respondents, which pulls the average down.
• 264.7 minutes is self-reported phone use among working adults only.
• About 5 hours 2 minutes is young people’s internet use; 75.4% of them were using a smartphone to get online.

Self-reported figures also drift from measured ones. Screen Time and Digital Wellbeing count differently again — background audio, for instance. If you compare, compare within the same method.

The hours climb as the rules disappear

In the Children and Families Agency data, 33.2% of high school students are online seven or more hours a day (17.7% nine hours or more). Over the same age range, the share saying their household has rules about device use falls from 82.1% (elementary) to 73.0% (junior high) to 46.6% (high school). The hours rise exactly where the structure thins out.

Two numbers that beat the average

Rather than measuring yourself against a national mean, look at these.

1. Your gap. In the Job Soken survey the distance between actual use (264.7 minutes) and the amount respondents were at peace with (197.2 minutes) was over an hour. Work out what that distance is for you.
2. Whether anything is suffering. The same survey reported sleep problems for 71.7% and reduced concentration for 48.4% of respondents. Long hours with no cost attached are not a problem to solve.

So what do you do with the numbers?

One thing is enough:

• Open Screen Time (iPhone) or Digital Wellbeing (Android) and read your measured figure.
• Decide the number you would be at peace with, and subtract.
• Take the single time of day where that gap is largest, and change one condition in that window only.

Awareness on its own does not move the hours. After the city of Toyoake introduced an ordinance on appropriate smartphone use, its resident survey found 24.5% saying they had become more conscious of their use — while only 3.4% said their usage time had decreased.

To see where your own use is costing you, try the phone overuse self-check. To start with the evening, see how to stop using your phone before bed.

Sources

• Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, “FY2024 Survey on Usage Time of Information and Communications Media” (published June 2025): https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01iicp01_02000125.html
• Job Soken (Persol Career), “2024 Survey on Smartphone Dependence” (606 working adults, surveyed November 2024): https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000227.000013597.html
• Children and Families Agency (Japan), “FY2024 Survey on the Internet Use Environment of Young People” (published March 2025): https://www.cfa.go.jp/policies/youth-kankyou/internet_research/results-etc/r06
• MMD Institute, “2024 Regular Survey on Smartphone Dependence” (10,000 people aged 18–69, surveyed July 2024): https://mmdlabo.jp/investigation/detail_2358.html
• SHIBUYA109 lab., “Survey on Generation Z’s Attention Detox” (574 people aged 15–24, published March 2026): https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000403.000033586.html
• City of Toyoake, resident survey on the ordinance promoting appropriate smartphone use: https://www.city.toyoake.lg.jp/22107.htm

These surveys differ in population, timing and method, so the figures cannot be compared directly. This article summarises publicly published research and is not medical advice.