Americans Now Spend 5 Hours A Day On Mobile Devices

According to a new report recently published by Flurry, it appears that consumers based in the United States are once again spending more time on mobile devices than ever. In its report, the analytics firm stated that Americans now spend up to 5 hours each day busy on handsets. 5 hours a day represents a 20 percent increase compared to the final quarter of 2015, and signs indicate that it is at the expense of lesser mobile browser usage. As a matter of fact, Flurry’s report states that mobile browser usage is now at 8 percent, decreasing from the 9 percent recorded in the final quarter of 2014, which dropped from the 14 percent posted in Q1 2014, and the 20 percent registered in Q1 2013.

So why are people spending more time on mobile devices but using less and less mobile browsers? The answer is pretty simple -- apps. With the way app stores are continuing to expand their inventory, and with people connecting more to the information super highway (in order to download something), it is no surprise that apps are getting more widely used, even supplanting typical mobile related activities such as making a phone call or sending a text message. 

Flurry’s data even suggests that more and more users are engaging in app activity than watching TV. The analytics firm began discovering this in the fall of 2015. This is one of the defining traits of the digital generation, in which people nowadays now spend most of their free time fiddling with mobile apps instead of watching their favorite TV shows (like the previous generations did). Intriguingly, the things that keep consumers busy on their mobile devices are include content that used to be accessible through TV sets, like movies, TV shows, and video games. Apps designed for consuming entertainment and multi-media even account for 15 percent of the total time spent by people on apps.

Flurry’s report also details how Americans are spending over half of their time (specifically, 51 percent) engaged in social media platforms, messaging, and entertainment apps. Take Snapchat, for instance -- the messaging app accounts for 2 percent of consumers’ daily time spent on apps. Even more popular is Facebook, which enjoys a 19 percent share, due to the fact that it also owns other popular app brands like Instagram and WhatsApp. Wait -- what about YouTube? It is now at 3 percent. 

As for mobile games, it now accounts for 11 percent of the total time spent by Americans on apps.