Healthy Screens

Problematic smartphone use across the world

Problematic smartphone use ranged from 18 in Germany to 36 in China, based on studies published between 2014 and 2020 (Olson et al., 2022). The participants were aged 15 to 35 and the scores can range from 10 to 60.

Breakdown by country

Scores show the average of studies published during the most recent available year. For a list of all 83 samples assessed, see the appendix of our manuscript or download the spreadsheet. We are currently collecting data from across the world to supplement these results (N = 50,000 participants from 195 countries and subdivisions.

Change over time

Problematic smartphone use increased across the world between 2014 and 2020 (Olson et al., 2022).