29 Kids Screen Time Statistics Parents Should Know (2026)
In a 2023 national poll, parents ranked screen time as the top child health problem in the U.S., yet most of what gets shared about it online is guesswork. These are the real numbers, each linked to the original research, plus what they mean for an ordinary family with a kid between 8 and 12.
Key takeaways
- Tweens averaged about 5½ hours of entertainment screen time a day in 2021, not counting schoolwork.
- About 6 in 10 kids ages 11–12 have their own smartphone (2025).
- Half of teens 12–17 have 4+ hours of daily screen time, not counting schoolwork.
- Fewer than 1 in 5 kids ages 6–17 get an hour of activity every day.
- Pediatricians now recommend a family media plan instead of one daily limit.
How much screen time kids actually have
The average daily entertainment screen time for tweens ages 8–12 in 2021, not counting schoolwork.
Common Sense Media, Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021How much tween screen time grew in two years, from 4 hr 44 min a day in 2019 to 5 hr 33 min in 2021.
Common Sense Media, Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021How much more screen media tween boys used per day than tween girls in 2021.
Common Sense Media, summary of the 2021 CensusShare of U.S. teens ages 12–17 with 4 or more hours of daily screen time, not counting schoolwork.
CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Data Brief 513 (2021–2023 data)Teens with 4+ hours of daily screen time rises from 45.6% at ages 12–14 to 55.0% at ages 15–17.
CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Data Brief 513 (2021–2023 data)What this means for your family: Your 8- to 12-year-old is at the start of the curve. Screen time tends to climb through the teen years, so habits you set now, like where devices charge at night and when screens end, are easier to build before middle school than after.
Phones, YouTube and social media at ages 8–12
Kids ages 11–12 who ever use a smartphone, according to their parents. About two-thirds of kids 8–10 do.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025Kids ages 11–12 who have their own smartphone. For ages 8–10, it’s 29%.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025Parents of kids 12 and under who say a child should be at least 12 before getting their own smartphone.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025Parents of kids 12 and under who say their child watches YouTube. About half say it happens every day.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025Kids ages 11–12 who use TikTok, per their parents, compared with 16% of kids 8–10.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025Tweens ages 8–12 who had ever used social media in 2021, up from 31% in 2019, even though most platforms require users to be 13.
Common Sense Media, Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021Parents of kids 12 and under who say their child uses a tablet.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025Kids ages 5–12 who have used an AI chatbot, according to their parents.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025What this means for your family: Most kids meet a smartphone, YouTube and often social media before 13. Many parents want to wait on a personal phone, and a shared family tablet or a phone that stays in the kitchen is a common middle step.
Notifications, school and sleep
Median number of phone notifications kids ages 11–17 received in a day. They saw or opened about 46 of them.
Common Sense Media, Constant Companion, 2023 (203 kids ages 11–17)Median number of times a day kids ages 11–17 picked up their phone.
Common Sense Media, Constant Companion, 2023 (203 kids ages 11–17)Kids ages 11–17 who used their phone during the school day, for a median of 43 minutes.
Common Sense Media, Constant Companion, 2023 (203 kids ages 11–17)Kids ages 11–17 who used their phone between midnight and 5 a.m. on school nights.
Common Sense Media, Constant Companion, 2023 (203 kids ages 11–17)What this means for your family: Phones are built to pull kids back in, and night use cuts into sleep. One of the simplest family rules with the biggest payoff: devices charge outside the bedroom overnight.
Mental health and movement
Teens with 4+ hours of daily screen time who had anxiety symptoms in the past two weeks, compared with teens with less screen time.
CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Data Brief 513 (2021–2023 data)Teens with 4+ hours of daily screen time who had depression symptoms in the past two weeks, compared with teens with less screen time.
CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Data Brief 513 (2021–2023 data)U.S. kids ages 6–17 who were physically active for at least 60 minutes every day of the past week. In Texas, it’s 19.1%.
National Survey of Children’s Health 2023–2024, via America’s Health RankingsWhat this means for your family: These are links, not proof that screens cause anxiety or depression. Kids who are struggling may also turn to screens more. Still, heavy use often crowds out sleep, movement and time together, and those are worth protecting first.
What parents think and do
Device overuse and screen time topped parents’ list of child health concerns in 2023, rated a big problem by 67%.
C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, Aug. 2023Parents of a child under 12 who are at least somewhat concerned their child might spend too much time on screens.
Pew Research Center, Parenting Children in the Age of Screens, July 2020Parents who say they are at least sometimes distracted by their own phone when spending time with their kids. 17% say it happens often.
Pew Research Center, Parenting Children in the Age of Screens, July 2020Parents who say they spend too much time on their own smartphone.
Pew Research Center, Parenting Children in the Age of Screens, July 2020Parents of kids ages 5–11 who limit when or how long their child can use screens.
Pew Research Center, Parenting Children in the Age of Screens, July 2020Parents of kids 12 and under who say they could be doing better managing their child’s screen time. The other 58% say they’re doing the best they can.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025Parents of kids 12 and under who say social media’s harms outweigh its benefits for kids.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025Parents of kids 12 and under who say tech companies should do more to set rules for what kids can do or see online.
Pew Research Center, How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids, Oct. 2025What this means for your family: If you feel like you could be doing better, you are in the majority, and you’re not doing it wrong. Most parents also admit their own phone gets in the way. Kids copy what they see, so family rules work best when the adults follow them too.
What pediatricians recommend now
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2026 guidance doesn’t set a daily time limit. It focuses on a family media plan and on what kids do with screens, not just how long.
American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 guidance, as reported by EdSurge, Feb. 2026What this means for your family: Practical starting points from the AAP guidance and its parent explainer on HealthyChildren.org: put phones down during meals and bedtime, make a family plan everyone helps write, share devices instead of giving one to each child, and offer real activities that replace screen time instead of only cutting it.
About these numbers
We used the most recent large, public studies we could find and linked each figure to its source. A few notes so you can use them fairly: Common Sense Media’s 2021 census is the most recent national survey of total screen time for ages 8–12 that we found. The CDC figures cover teens 12–17 and show associations, not causes. The Constant Companion figures come from a smaller study of 203 kids ages 11–17 with Android phones that tracked their real use. We’ll update this page as new research comes out.
Use these statistics
Writers, teachers, schools and parent groups are welcome to share any statistic on this page. Please credit the original source and link back here:
Families Beyond the Screen, “29 Kids Screen Time Statistics Parents Should Know (2026),” https://familiesbeyondthescreen.com/blog/kids-screen-time-statistics
Ready to make the numbers work for your family?
The 30-Day Family Reset turns this research into small daily steps for kids 8–12: a family screen plan, calm stopping routines, scripts for “five more minutes,” and real activities to replace the scroll.
See the 30-Day ResetGet the free agreementQuick answers
How much screen time do kids ages 8–12 have?
Tweens ages 8–12 averaged 5 hours and 33 minutes of entertainment screen time a day in 2021, not counting schoolwork, according to Common Sense Media. That was up 17% from 2019.
At what age do most kids get a smartphone?
According to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey of parents, about 6 in 10 kids ages 11–12 have their own smartphone, compared with 29% of kids 8–10. Most parents (68%) say kids should be at least 12 before getting one.
Is screen time linked to anxiety and depression in kids?
CDC data show teens with 4 or more hours of daily screen time were more likely to report anxiety symptoms (27.1% vs 12.3%) and depression symptoms (25.9% vs 9.5%) than teens with less. This is an association, not proof that screens cause these symptoms.
How much screen time does the AAP recommend for kids?
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2026 guidance no longer sets a single daily limit. It recommends a family media plan made together, putting phones down during meals and bedtime, and replacing screen time with real activities rather than only cutting it.
Keep reading: How much screen time should a 10-year-old have? · How to make a family screen time agreement