Take a moment to go into your settings and check out your daily screen time use. Think you spend ages on your phone? Don't worry, you're not alone. The 2026 Teen Summit survey suggested that 74% of teenagers spend more than three hours a day on their phones.
Screen time can be fun, entertaining, and educational but it can also take up quite a big chunk of your day that could be spent on other things. If you're worried about your screen time and want to reduce it, check out these tips from digital expert and author Dr Kaitlyn Regehr.
Whether you're using the time on your phone for fun, escapism or to complete important tasks or learn new things, all of those hours a day add up over time. So, we challenge you to take our quiz below and find out how many hours you'll spend on your phone, approximately, by the time you're 18 if you carry on at your current pace.
How many hours will you scroll by the time you're 18? Take the quiz
About the Teen Summit Survey
The Teen Summit survey was conducted by Survation, on behalf of BBC Bitesize and 5 Live. More than 2,000 teenagers, aged between 13-18 answered questions about the issues important to them. The results of the survey have helped us to get to know you and the issues that affect you, from your feelings about yourself to those about the world around you.This survey was conducted by Survation interviewing 2087 teenagers aged 13-18 years old online between 2nd July and 17th July 2026.
If you need support
You should always tell someone about the things you’re worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher, or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you’re doing.
If you’re in need of in-the-moment support you can contact Childline, where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are more links to helpful organisations on the BBC Bitesize Action Line page for young people.
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