Staring at digital (de)vices

Over a third of people in the US spend seven or more hours per day looking at electronic devices.

This is according to a recent scientific poll of 1 220 US citizens, conducted last week by polling group Poll Position. The results were weighted to be nationally representative of “American adults”.

Respondents were asked “how many hours a day do you spend looking at either a TV, computer screen, e-reader, PDA or cellphone?”

“There are a growing number of electronic devices competing for your eyeballs, time and attention,” says Poll Position.

The majority (60%) said they spent between one and six hours watching electronic devices. Breaking the results down further, about a third (30.8%) of people spent one to three hours staring into digital space, and the remaining third (30.3%) spend four to six hours doing the same.

For the 12% of people who spend more than 10 hours a day in front of their devices, unsurprisingly it is the younger generation (18-29 years old) and those of working age (30-44 years) who are more likely to be square-eyed.

Also unsurprisingly, the over 65s make up the majority of people spending little (one to three hours) to no time looking at screens.

While the poll didn't look specifically at what people are doing while staring at electronic devices, other recent polls could shed some light.

survey by Nielsen found that Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time communicating on social networking sites and blogs. This indicated a 43% increase from 2010.

“Despite the almost unlimited nature of what you can do on the Web, 40% of US online time is spent on just three activities - social networking, playing games and e-mailing - leaving a whole lot of other sectors fighting for a declining share of the online pie,” says Nielsen analyst Dave Martin.

While new technologies are increasingly becoming a normal part of everyday life, surveys such as that conducted by Poll Position do raise the question of whether it's becoming too much.

The Telegraph recently reported that a new phenomenon of “sleep-texting”, or sending text messaged while sleeping, is becoming more common.

The report says according to sleep experts, it is a natural extension of the younger generation's “reliance on modern technology”.

The Telegraph quotes Dr Ron Kramer of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine: “Texting for some of the younger generation is probably as ingrained as driving is for some people.”