Digital Detox? How Americans Try to Limit Their Screen Time

In many ways, the rise of smartphones has made our lives a lot easier. Whether it’s communicating with friends and family, listening to music, watching movies, playing games, paying bills or even working from anywhere – the things we can do with and on our phones are now virtually limitless. It’s exactly that omnipotence and omnipresence that has pushed phones further and further towards the center of our lives in recent years, however, so much so that many people are now beginning to question the amount of time they spend starting at their phone.

According to Deloitte’s 2023 Connected Consumer survey, consumers aged 18 to 40 in particular are concerned about the consequences of their device usage, both on their physical and emotional well-being. The survey finds that 53 percent of Americans in that age group struggle to limit their screen time to a comfortable level, while 51 and 47 percent worry that their device usage could negatively impact their physical or emotional health, respectively. Interestingly, older consumer, i.e. those aged 41 and above, are much less concerned about their tech usage in comparison, possibly because they aren’t quite as fixated on their phones as younger people tend to be these days.

To find the right balance between their physical and their digital lives, many consumers are taking steps to manage or limit their device usage. According to Deloitte 8 in 10 smartphone users in the U.S. have put at least one measure in place to set boundaries for themselves, and these measures range from taking regular breaks from devices or screens to actually restricting app or web usage. As our chart shows, the former is the most popular way to limit screen time, while putting away devices when doing activities with family and friends is also a popular way to stop the digital life from interfering with the physical world. Surprisingly, just 12 percent of the respondents have set up actual limits on screen time – a feature that has been brought to iOS and Android in recent years.