We Check Our Phones an Average of 205 Times a Day
Updated: May 2026.
We spend about a quarter of all our waking hours on our phones.
Over the past five years, screen time has increased by at least 30%.
Devices let us stay connected, learn, and access information. But the price we pay is the erosion of our attention.
App algorithms are designed to capture user attention. The risks are especially high for kids and teens. How do screens affect them?
Constant distraction. Children find it hard to ignore notifications.
App-switching that weakens sustained attention.
Intolerance for delay. Children want stimulation all the time and struggle with the discomfort of waiting.
FOMO. Fear of missing out drives compulsive phone-checking.
For many people, reaching for a phone has already become automatic behavior, and breaking the habit takes real effort. Here is what your whole family can practice together:
- Agree on how much daily screen time is reasonable. Use activity-tracking apps and discuss the results together.
- Keep devices out of bedrooms during sleep.
- Turn off notifications.
- Interrupt compulsive phone-checking and help each other do it. Set specific times for reading news.
- Put phones away during meals, walks, and family time…
- Avoid passive scrolling — talk about what feelings it brings (boredom, fatigue).
- Make a list of interesting offline activities and turn to them in moments when your hands reach for the phone.
Screens steal children’s attention. Research shows that sustained attention span has dropped from 150 seconds in 2004 to roughly 47 seconds today. Teaching children to engage mindfully with information is essential. Animago’s CBT therapists work with children from age 3, building skills in self-control, time management, and attention regulation.