Adults now spend more time using their mobile devices than they do watching television, eMarketer is reporting.
A study by eMarketer shows the average U.S. adult will spend 3 hours, 43 minutes a day on mobile devices this year, compared to 3 hours and 35 minutes watching TV. In 2018, the average adult spent 3 hours and 44 minutes watching television, compared to 3 hours and 35 minutes on their mobile devices.
“We’ve expected that mobile would overtake TV for a while, but seeing it happen is still surprising," said Yoram Wurmser, eMarketer principal analyst. "As recently as 2014, the average U.S. adult watched nearly 2 hours more TV than they spent on their phones”
The average adult is now spending most of the time using apps on their mobile devices, rather than using mobile web browsers.
“Digital audio apps continue to add minutes because people are streaming more music on their phones, and podcasts have taken off in popularity in the past few years,” Wurmser said.
And eMarketer noted adults’ use of tablets continues to fall after having peaked at 1 hour and 11 minutes of daily usage in 2017. This year it dipped to one hour and 8 minutes.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.