Average screen time for college students: what studies measured, and how to check yours (2026)
Two studies that read college students' own phone records found an average of about 4 to 7 hours of phone screen time a day. minulo can't shrink your schoolwork, but it hides Reels and Shorts while your DMs keep working, and hiding is free.
We didn't find a large study that measured US college students' phone time from their phones' own records, so this page reports the two we could read in full: 306 students in Spain and 16,668 students in China. Both measured screen time from the phone instead of asking students to estimate it. We also didn't find an official recommended daily limit for adults from Apple or a public health agency, so this page doesn't invent one.
Written by Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo. Sources are linked below and were checked on 2026-11-02. Neither study was done in the US, and the numbers are averages, not targets.
| Study | Who | How it was measured | Average phone screen time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grimaldi-Puyana et al., 2020 (Spain) | 306 students aged 19 to 25 at the University of Seville | 7 days of iPhone Screen Time, or the Your Hour app on Android | 254 min on weekdays (about 4 h 14 min), 243 min on weekends |
| Wang et al., 2025 (China) | 16,668 students at 6 universities, 2022 to 2024 | Screenshots of the phone's usage records | 48.8 hours a week (about 7 hours a day) and 271.6 unlocks a week (about 39 a day) |
What the studies found
In the Spanish study, published in 2020, students averaged 254 minutes of phone screen time on weekdays and 243 minutes on weekends over one week. Weekday use was 266 minutes for men and 238 minutes for women. The study counted total screen time and did not break it down by app.
The Chinese study, published in JMIR Mental Health in 2025, collected screenshots from 16,668 students between 2022 and 2024. The average was 48.8 hours a week, which works out to about 7 hours a day, and 271.6 unlocks a week. The two studies differ in country, year and method, so treat the range of roughly 4 to 7 hours as a rough picture, not a US figure.
How to see your own number on iPhone
On iOS 27, go to Settings › Screen Time › Daily Average. Tap Week for the weekly summary or Day for one day, and scroll down for Pickups and Notifications. Swipe left and right to see earlier weeks. If you also use an iPad or Mac with the same Apple Account, turn on Share Across Devices under Manage Screen Time to see the combined total. For a walkthrough of the report, see how to read the Screen Time weekly report.
What to do with the number
The total mixes lecture slides, texts with classmates and Reels. Look at the most used apps first. If Instagram, TikTok or YouTube are near the top, the part worth cutting is usually the feed, not the messages. Setting a daily cap on the whole app also cuts the group chat, which is why many students give up on limits after a few days.
Cut the feed time, keep the group chat
- Check your daily average. On iOS 27, open Settings, Screen Time and Daily Average, then look at the most used apps and Pickups.
- Pick the hours that matter. Schedule Downtime for class and study hours (iOS 26), or a Screen Time Schedule (iOS 27), and keep Messages in Always Allowed.
- Hide Reels and Shorts in minulo. Install minulo, sign in to Instagram, YouTube or TikTok inside it, and turn off Reels, Explore, suggested posts, Shorts and For You. DMs keep working. Hiding is free.
- Lock the official apps. In minulo's Block tab, allow Screen Time and choose the official apps. A free block lasts up to 2 hours, and you can start another when it ends.
minulo Pro (US $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year) adds blocks longer than 2 hours, schedules by day and time and Hard Mode.
Limits, so you can decide honestly: Reels and Shorts are hidden only inside minulo, and the official apps don't change. While minulo blocks an official app, that app's notifications don't arrive, and minulo sends none of its own. Posting Stories, voice messages and calls aren't available. minulo is for iPhone, with a Mac version that works in Safari and Chrome, and there is no Android version yet. It is new, with few ratings. See what minulo can't do.
What is the average screen time for college students?
Two studies that measured it from students' phones found about 4 hours 14 minutes a day on weekdays (306 students in Spain, 2020) and about 7 hours a day (16,668 students in China, 2022 to 2024). We didn't find a comparable large US study.
Is 7 hours of screen time a day normal for a college student?
It was the average in the 2025 study of 16,668 Chinese college students. Whether it is too much for you depends on what the hours are spent on, because class work and messages count in the same total as Reels.
Is there a recommended screen time for college students?
We didn't find an official daily limit for adults from Apple or a public health agency. A practical target is the time you spend in feeds you didn't mean to open, which Screen Time's most used apps list shows.
How do I check my screen time on iPhone?
On iOS 27, go to Settings, Screen Time and Daily Average. Tap Week or Day, and scroll down to see Pickups and Notifications.
Does Screen Time count my iPad and Mac too?
On iOS 27, turn on Share Across Devices under Manage Screen Time. Your iPhone, iPad and Mac signed in to the same Apple Account then share usage data and limits.
Is minulo free?
Downloading minulo and hiding Reels and Shorts are free. Locking the official apps is free for up to 2 hours per block. minulo Pro adds longer blocks, schedules and Hard Mode.
Sources
- Grimaldi-Puyana M. et al. (2020). Associations of objectively-assessed smartphone use with physical activity, sedentary behavior, mood, and sleep quality in young adults: a cross-sectional study. IJERPH 17(10): 3499
- Wang W. et al. (2025). Objectively measured smartphone use and nonsuicidal self-injury among college students: cross-sectional study. JMIR Mental Health 12
- Apple: Set up Screen Time for yourself on iPhone (iOS 27)
- Apple: Set Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances on iPhone (iOS 27)
- Apple: Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 26)
- minulo: What minulo can't do
- App Store (US): minulo