The South African reported last week that Mzansi has the rather dubious accolade of the highest screen time in the world. In case you missed it, according to Electronics Hub, South Africans spend 56.8% of their waking hours – 9 hours and 24 minutes – looking at screens. This includes televisions, computer screens and mobile phones … what the actual, right!?
Of the 4.3-billion smartphone users globally, the highest screen time in the world goes to South Africans, too. 31.7% of screen time is spent on mobile – 5 hours and 15 minutes. Worse still, the report confirms that 22.6% of that inordinately high amount is spent only on social media – 3 hours and 41 minutes … just doom scrolling.
HIGHEST SCREEN TIME IN THE WORLD
Nevertheless, the story has gone viral and we’ve been inundated with messages on our social media platforms, trying to understand ‘why’. As ever, South Africa has a unique knack of making light of such news. We checked out the comments and, fair play, there are some pretty astute points of view.
One reader commented: “It’s because of crime. We’d rather stay home where it’s safe.” And, as outrageous as that sounds, he may have a totally valid point. The next highest ranked nation for screen time is Brazil, which also suffers from incredibly high crime statistics.
Meanwhile, another said: “We don’t have jobs and there’s always load-shedding, so what else are we supposed to do?” Again, another perfectly accurate point. Nearly 40% youth unemployment definitely contributes to high screen time, as the majority of smartphone user are 45-years of age and younger.
MAYBE IT’S A GOOD THING?
The overwhelming sentiment is that having the highest screen time in the world is probably a bad thing. Experts say it’s bad for your health and leads to reduced concentration. However, one shrewd commenter flipped the argument. “Congrats to all the lawyers, accountants and engineers in South Africa, doing us proud and putting in the hard work. This is why we’re considered one of the hardest working nations in the world.”
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