Who Thinks They Overuse Their Phone — 80.4% at 20-Something, 49.3% at 50-Something
Self-reported overuse in Japan varies by more than 30 points across age bands. Two 2024 surveys, one of 606 working adults and one of 10,000 people aged 18–69, show why the headline share depends entirely on who was asked.
Summaries of how many people overuse their phones in Japan come in two sizes: about six in ten, or about seven in ten. Neither is wrong. They surveyed different people. And once you go down to age bands, a single survey opens up a gap of more than 30 points.
This post is about that gap. Which categories of app people name is covered in what people say they overuse, and how average-usage figures from different surveys line up is in how much time people actually spend on their phones. Here the subject is the self-assessment rate alone.
62.5% and 74.3% describe different populations
The two surveys most often quoted side by side do not cover the same people.
| Survey | Who was asked | Share who said yes |
|---|---|---|
| MMD Labo, “2024 Fixed-Point Survey on Smartphone Dependence” (13–15 July 2024) | 10,000 people aged 18–69 in Japan with an active mobile contract | 23.4% heavily + 39.1% somewhat = 62.5% |
| Job Soken, “2024 Survey on Smartphone Dependence” (6–11 November 2024) | 606 working adults in Japan, aged 20s–50s, nationwide | 74.3% consider themselves reliant |
One includes late teens through people in their sixties; the other is restricted to employed people in their 20s through 50s. Whether over-60s and students are in the sample moves the result, so the two figures cannot be subtracted from each other — and neither can stand in for a national rate.
Among working adults: 80.4% in their 20s, 49.3% in their 50s
The Job Soken release breaks its figure down by age band. The base is given as all 606 respondents; the number of people in each band is not published.
| Age band | Consider themselves reliant |
|---|---|
| 20s | 80.4% |
| 30s | 79.8% |
| 40s | 70.7% |
| 50s | 49.3% |
That is a 31.1-point spread. Twenties and thirties sit together around 80%, forties drop to roughly seven in ten, and fifties fall below half. The headline 74.3% is an average over a group where one end is at 80% and the other below 50%.
In the same survey, the share who want to cut back falls the same way — 86.5% in their 20s to 65.0% in their 50s (this question was asked of the 450 people who had said they were reliant). Self-assessment and the wish to cut back move together.
Narrowing to “heavily” brings late teens forward
MMD asked in degrees, so the “heavily reliant” answer can be isolated. It is 23.4% overall, but some age-and-gender cells stand well above that:
- Men aged 18–19: 39.9% (n=148)
- Women aged 18–19: 33.6% (n=140)
- Women in their 20s: 32.6% (n=791)
Close to four in ten young men picked the strongest option rather than the middle one — more than 16 points above the overall 23.4%. The teen cells carry n of 140–148, though, so they cannot be read with the precision of the full 10,000.
A higher share is not more hours
This is the easiest step to get wrong. Both surveys asked people how they would describe themselves. Neither measured usage.
The age gap may partly reflect different amounts of use, but it may also reflect different standards applied to the same amount of use. The 49.3% among people in their 50s does not mean the other half use their phones little; it means they did not describe themselves that way. How estimates drift from measurements is covered in self-reported phone time is not measured phone time.
Three cautions
- Check who was asked. General population aged 18–69, or employed people aged 20–59? The headline share moves here first.
- These shares are sums. Both 74.3% and 62.5% add several answer options together. Narrow to the strongest option and MMD’s figure drops to 23.4%.
- Look for the base behind each band. Job Soken does not publish per-band counts, and MMD’s teen cells are n=140–148. Age breakdowns are coarser than the headline number.
What to do with this in ten minutes
A table of self-assessment rates is not a basis for changing anything. Rather than checking yourself against an age-band average, get one number of your own.
- Open Screen Time on iOS (Settings › Screen Time) or Digital Wellbeing on Android (Settings › Digital Wellbeing & parental controls) and read last week’s daily average.
- Note whether it was longer or shorter than you expected. That discrepancy is what the self-assessment surveys are actually measuring.
- If it ran long, pick exactly one app as this week’s target. Not two.
If you would rather work through specific signs than a single number, the ten-item overuse self-check is the place to start.
Sources
- Job Soken (Persol Career), “2024 Survey on Smartphone Dependence” (employed members of JobQ Town in Japan, nationwide, men and women in their 20s–50s, 606 valid responses, 6–11 November 2024, online survey; the 74.3% figure and the age breakdown are on the 606-person base, while the want-to-cut-back question was asked of the 450 who said they were reliant): https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000227.000013597.html
- MMD Labo, “2024 Fixed-Point Survey on Smartphone Dependence” (10,000 men and women aged 18–69 in Japan owning a smartphone with an active mobile contract, 13–15 July 2024, online survey): https://mmdlabo.jp/investigation/detail_2358.html
This post summarises published survey findings and is not medical advice or a diagnosis.
FAQ
- What share of people say they overuse their phone?
- It depends on who was surveyed. Job Soken's 2024 study of 606 working adults in Japan (fieldwork 6–11 November 2024) put the share who consider themselves reliant on their phone at 74.3%. MMD Labo's 2024 survey of 10,000 people aged 18–69 in Japan (13–15 July 2024) found 23.4% saying heavily and 39.1% somewhat, for 62.5% combined.
- Which age group reports it most?
- In the Job Soken survey, people in their 20s were highest at 80.4%, followed by 30s at 79.8%, 40s at 70.7% and 50s at 49.3% — a spread of 31.1 points. In the MMD survey, narrowing to heavily reliant puts men aged 18–19 first at 39.9%, women aged 18–19 at 33.6% and women in their 20s at 32.6%.
- Does a higher share mean that age group spends more time on the phone?
- Not necessarily. Both surveys asked people to rate themselves; neither measured time. Part of the gap between age bands may be a difference in how people judge the same amount of use rather than a difference in the use itself.
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