Writealetter.org

Let's start writing letters again!

  • Home
  • About
  • Go The Write Way
  • Posts
  • Resources
  • Contact

9 billion phone checks a day*

September 5, 2018 By Carol

How to Break Up with Your Phone. Illustration by Miguel Porlan. New York Times

Ever wonder how much time you spend checking your phone on a daily basis?  And how much does that all add up to in hours and minutes? In a recent survey of 8,000 people, the “Average daily screentime usage” was 3 hours.  Most people spend between 1-4 hours on their phones. If you spend a quarter of your day on your phone that accumulates into 100 hours a month…and “Over the average lifetime, that amounts to a staggering  11 years! (Adam Alter, Irresistible, p.15)

Three hours per day is a lot of time. Think: what else could one do with at least some of those 3 hours? …Spend more time with family and friends, have face-to-face conversations, cook a meal, eat a meal without a phone interrupting, go for a walk in Nature, …maybe even write a thank you note?

If you have the slightest inkling that you might be spending too much time on your phone, then I recommend that you tune into ABC’s Good Morning America this Thursday morning, Sept. 6th at 7:00 a.m. Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up with Your Phone, will be interviewed in a special segment with Dan Harris. Catherine coached Dan through an abbreviated phone breakup. Listen in to find out why Dan Harris felt he was spending too much time on his smartphone and what he did to break that pattern.

 

*…”Americans check their phones about 47 times per day. For people between 18 and 24, the average is 82. Collectively, this adds up to more than 9 billion phone checks every day.” How to Break Up with Your Phone (p.6)

__________________________________________________________________________

References-

Adam Alter, Irresistible-The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. Penguin Books. 2017

Catherine Price, How to Break Up with Your Phone. Ten Speed Press. 2018

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/well/phone-cellphone-addiction-time.html

Filed Under: Books, Great Finds, News clipping Tagged With: Adam Alter, average daily screentime, Catherine Price, Dan Harris, face-to-face conversation, Good Morning America, have a meal without your phone interrupting, how to break the pattern, How to Break Up with Your Phone, Irresistible, Miguel Porlan, New York Times, phone checks, smartphone, walk in Nature, write a thank you note

Subscribe

Subscribe to our mailing list for occasional newsletters and notices of new posts




Archives

  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010

Copyright © 2025 · Carol Christmas · website by Hardenbergh Design · Log in