Internet and smartphones, the record among 15 to 24 year olds: 5 hours and 47 minutes per day

What is the weight of technology in our daily lives? One parameter is certainly the time spent online and on digital devices. ISTAT has calculated that, on an average weekday (year 2023), Italians stay in front of the screen for 3 hours and 53 minutes. But this is only an average and the figure rises further - to 5 hours and 25 minutes - if we consider only those who actually use the Internet, a PC or a smartphone (71.5% of the population aged 3 and over).

Digital use, reads the Annual Report of the institute of statistics, accompanies all stages of life from early childhood onwards and grows up to the age of 24. Children between 3 and 5 years of age use it on average for about one hour a day, mainly for play activities. but when considering only those who use it (37.2%), the actual time rises to almost three hours (2 hours 49 minutes). The time increases as age increases, reaching its highest value between the ages of 15 and 24: 5 hours and 47 minutes, with 86.5% of users. From this age, the time stabilises above 4 hours and decreases from the age of 55.

There are no offline times of the day. Already in the early hours of the morning, around 10% of the population uses digital devices. The share increases over the course of the day, with peaks around 10 am, 4.30 pm and 9.40 pm.

The analysis by time slot confirms the role of digital as a structural component of the daily experience of 15-24 year olds. In particular, among 15-19 year olds, usage quotas are high throughout the day: around 20% already in the early morning hours, around 40% until late afternoon, with evening peaks involving almost half of the youngsters. At around 11 p.m., a quarter of the very young are still engaged in activities requiring the use of digital tools. Between the ages of 20 and 24," Istat points out, "the profile is similar, but on slightly lower levels.