Shocking amount of time average Brit wastes on their phone revealed

Shocking amount of time average Brit wastes on their phone revealedBrits are losing a huge slice of their lives to doomscrolling with a study revealing the worst part is what it does to the moments you thought you were living. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Robert Fisk 00:29, Wed, Jun 3, 2026 The report says people spend a lot of their time doomscrolling (Stock image) (Image: Getty)Brits are set to waste five years of their lives on “mindless” phone use, like doomscrolling and checking notifications, according to groundbreaking research published today. The study showed that more than a third of the time people spend on their phones is without a clear purpose – equivalent to around an hour and 26 minutes each day. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) It found that the more time spent on a phone in this way, the more likely a person is to experience negative effects. And the research study, which included surveying more than 6,000 people, estimates that 14 million people in the UK spend more than half of their phone time without a clear purpose. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get the day's biggest headlines in UK and World news and more Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy PolicyHMRC confirms state pension tax chan...