People Spend More Time Looking at Screens Than Ever

Americans spent more time than ever before looking at all kinds of screens. According to Nielsen's latest Cross-Platform Report, U.S. consumers spent an average of 270 hours per month watching TV or using smartphones, PCs and other devices in the first quarter of 2014.

Smartphone usage has seen the biggest increase since last year's first quarter, with people now spending 7 hours more per month using apps or browsing on their mobile phones. The only two categories that saw a slight decrease are live TV and Blu-Ray / DVD playback. Despite the small decrease in usage, live TV still accounts for the lion's share of people's screen time. On average, Americans spent 160 hours a month watching traditional TV in Q1.