Gen Z will spend 112 complete days in 2024 on their phones: Report

WHILE SOME THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE ZACK MORRIS CALLED HIS PRINCIPAL MISTER BELDING ON HIS PHONE IN THAT SAVED BY THE BELL EPISODE – OTHER THINGS HAVEN’T. LIKE HIGH SCHOOLERS STILL LOVE USING THEIR PHONES.

THESE DAYS THEY ARE PART OF GENERATION Z – AND A NEW REPORT RELEASED THIS WEEK FROM GEN Z RESEARCH FIRM D-C-D-X IS SHOWING THIS GENERATION’S ATTACHMENT TO PHONES IS GROWING.

IN ITS FOURTH ANNUAL GEN Z SCREEN TIME REPORT D-C-D-X ISSUES A WARNING BEFORE PRESENTING ITS FINDINGS – SAYING QUOTE “WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE MAY SHOCK YOU. IT MAY MAKE YOU FEEL CONCERN. IT MAY MAKE YOU FEEL ANGRY, AND IT MAY MAKE YOU FEEL CONFUSED…IF WE WANT TO CHANGE GEN Z’S RELATIONSHIP WITH TECHNOLOGY, WE HAVE TO LEAN INTO THE DISCOMFORT, THE ANGER, THE SHOCK, AND THE CONCERN.”

ONE BIG FINDING FROM THE REPORT – GEN Z WILL SPEND 112 COMPLETE DAYS ON THEIR PHONES IN 20-24.

THE FIRM ANALYZED SCREEN TIME SUBMISSIONS FROM 234 GEN Z’ERS AGED 16 TO 27 AND FOUND DAILY AVERAGE SCREEN TIME FOR 2024 ROSE BY OVER 15 MINUTES FROM LAST YEAR — TO 7 HOURS 22 MINUTES AND 43 SECONDS.

BREAKING IT DOWN BY AGE – BOTH YOUNGER GEN ZERS AGE 16 TO 20 AND OLDER ONES AGE 21 TO 27 SAW AN INCREASE IN THEIR DAILY AVERAGE SCREEN TIME. YOUNGER ONES WITH A “D-A-S-T” OF 7 HOURS 52 MINUTES AND 56 SECONDS AND OLDER ONES AT 7 HOURS 5 MINUTES AND 29 SECONDS.

AND WHILE THE YOUNGER GEN ZERS SPEND MORE TIME ON THEIR PHONES, OLDER ONES HAD A BIGGER INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR  – NEARLY 25 MINUTES MORE THAN IN 2023.

LOOKING AT GENDER – DAILY SCREEN TIME FOR MALES JUMPED 13 PERCENT TO 6 HOURS 40 MINUTES AND 13 SECONDS. FEMALE SCREEN TIME SAW VIRTUALLY NO CHANGE BUT STILL EXCEEDS THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS AT 7 HOURS 48 MINUTES AND 48 SECONDS.

D-C-D-X NEXT LOOKED AT WHAT EXACTLY GEN Z IS LOOKING AT WHEN THEY ARE USING THEIR PHONES.

THE TOP FIVE APPS REMAIN THE SAME AS LAST YEAR – WITH TIKTOK HOLDING THE TOP SPOT ONCE AGAIN – KEEPING GEN Z’S ATTENTION FOR A WEEKLY AVERAGE SCREEN TIME OF 9 HOURS 24 MINUTES AND 8 SECONDS – UP 4 PERCENT FROM LAST YEAR.

INSTAGRAM AT NUMBER TWO AT 7 HOURS 3 MINUTES AND 46 SECONDS  — BUT DOWN BY 8 PERCENT.

AND WE TAKE A BIG DROP IN WEEKLY AVERAGE SCREEN TIME TO NUMBER 3 WITH “MESSAGES” AT 3 HOURS 56 SECONDS AND 27 MINUTES —  BUT UP 3 PERCENT.

AND AN HONORABLE MENTION JUST OUT OF THE TOP 5 IS WHATSAPP – WHICH WENT UP 233 PERCENT FROM 2023 TO 2024 – WITH A “W-A-S-T” OF 1 HOUR 29 MINUTES AND 8 SECONDS.

AND BEYOND SCREEN TIME – D-C-D-X LOOKED AT NOTIFICATIONS – WITH A 13 PERCENT DECREASE IN DAILY NOTIFICATION AVERAGES. THE FIRM SAYS THIS SUGGESTS MORE GEN ZERS ARE “ADJUSTING THEIR SETTINGS TO REDUCE NOTIFICATIONS OR USING APPS THAT ARE LESS DISRUPTIVE TO THEIR DAILY LIVES.”

PHONE USERS SHARED THEIR SCREEN TIME DATA OVER THE COURSE OF 2 WEEKS IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER. AND AT 234 PARTICIPANTS – IT’S ONLY A SAMPLE OF THE OVER 65 MILLION GEN ZERS LIVING IN THE US – BUT D-C-D-X SAYS THE RESULTS DO POINT TO A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY USAGE BEHAVIORS AMONG GEN Z.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M KENNEDY FELTON.

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