Executive Summary

This analysis examines screen time patterns across age groups and their correlation with academic performance. Using data from Kaggle datasets and Apple product sales figures, we identify concerning trends in youth screen usage and provide evidence-based insights for parents, educators, and policymakers seeking to promote healthier digital habits.

Understanding Addiction Levels

Screen Time by Activity and Addiction Level

Screen Time by Activity and Addiction Level

The heat map provides critical insights into what differentiates addiction levels. Roughly 6 hours of daily screen use is the primary indicator of high addiction. By holistically examining usage patterns singularly, we can conclude that most people within 20,000 participants are highly addicted to screens.

Notably, weekend usage decreases slightly at higher addiction levels—not because addicted users reduce their screen time on weekends, but because their usage becomes consistent across all days. Addiction creates patterns where daily and weekend usage converge at elevated levels.

Device Accessibility and Market Saturation

Apple’s 2025 Screen Device Sales

Apple's 2025 Screen Device Sales

Examining Apple’s 2025 product sales provides insight into device accessibility. With 231 million iPhones sold in 2025 alone, phones are clearly the most accessible screen device. While this chart represents only one manufacturer and may not perfectly reflect household device distribution, intuition and market data confirm that phones are the most easily accessible screens anywhere—in pockets, purses, cars, and classrooms.

Context matters when interpreting these figures so the following describes such. Apple maintained steady momentum in MacBook sales through 2022 and 2023—but this followed the rollout of the M2 and M3 chips. Shipments reached about 29.1 million units in 2023. Regardless of laptops’ longer lifespan, the consistently high volume of iPhone sales (231 million units in 2025) highlights a perpetual replacement cycle. This frequent turnover, driven by the release of flagship models like the iPhone 17 and high-value entries like the SE series, ensures that the latest technology remains ubiquitous in users’ hands (Apple Inc., 2022–2025).

Age-Specific Usage Patterns: Protecting Our Children

Average Daily Screen Time by Age

Average Daily Screen Time by Age

This breakdown is perhaps the most critical for parents and educators. We must protect our children; understanding age-specific patterns is essential. Children are inherently imitative—“monkey see, monkey do”—so they will follow the digital behavior patterns we model.

The data shows:

  • Ages 6-7: Approximately 1.5 hours daily (manageable)
  • Ages 8-10: Around 2.5-3 hours daily (acceptable range)
  • Ages 11-13: Approximately 4 hours daily (concerning increase)
  • Ages 14-15: Approaching 5 hours daily (alarming)

Children under 11 years old average under 3 hours daily, which falls within reasonable limits. However, by age 15, usage spikes to nearly 5 hours daily, and the effects are becoming visible in real-world settings.

Teachers are speaking out on social media, expressing firsthand experiences that “children have changed.” We’ve seen appalling behavior reported in news stories of children harming their peers. While this presentation doesn’t delve deeply into mental health and wellbeing data specifically, educators across the country are raising alarms about attention spans, behavioral issues, and social-emotional development.

Academic Performance Correlation

The Relationship Between Screen Time and Academic Success

Academic Performance vs Screen Time

Although numerous factors can influence academic performance—socioeconomic status, home environment, learning differences, and more—this slope graph depicts a clear trend: as screen time usage increases, academic performance declines.

Academic performance is typically measured through grades, and although causation cannot be definitively established from correlation alone, the inverse relationship is compelling and warrants serious consideration. Students spending more hours on screens show measurably lower academic outcomes.

This finding should prompt families and schools to:

  1. Establish reasonable screen time limits
  2. Create screen-free study environments
  3. Prioritize sleep over late-night device use
  4. Model healthy digital habits for children
  5. Encourage alternative activities (reading, sports, face-to-face interaction)

Conclusions and Recommendations

Key Findings

  1. Most people are highly addicted to screens: averaging 6 hours of daily usage
  2. TikTok accounts for 2 hours daily: averaging one-third of total daily screen time use
  3. Phones are the most accessible screens: 231 million iPhones sold by Apple in 2025 and small enough to carry everywhere
  4. Screen time increases sharply with age: nearly doubling from childhood to adolescence
  5. Higher screen time correlates with lower academic performance: non-educational screen time may distract attention or limit time used for retaining educational content

What We Can Do

As adults, parents, and educators, we are role models. Our children mirror our behavior. If we want them to develop healthy relationships with technology, we must:

  • Set boundaries: Establish device-free times and zones
  • Model balance: Demonstrate that life exists beyond screens
  • Prioritize alternatives: Encourage reading, outdoor play, and hobbies
  • Stay informed: Continue researching screen time impacts
  • Advocate: Support policies that protect children from addictive design

The data is clear. The trends are concerning. Awareness is the first step toward change.

Data Sources and Methodology

Primary Datasets (all retrieved from Kaggle):

  1. Digital Habits vs Mental Health Dataset (n=100,000): Screen time patterns, TikTok usage, addiction levels, and behavioral metrics across demographics
  2. Teen Phone Addiction Dataset (n=3,002): Smartphone addiction indicators and usage behaviors among adolescents
  3. Apple Product Sales Data (2007-2025): Annual unit sales figures for iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and Apple Watches

Analysis Tools: R, RStudio, Tableau

Sample Population: Ages 6-15, comprehensive analysis across 100,000+ observations with various demographic characteristics

References

Apple Inc. (2022–2025). Apple product announcements and releases. Apple Newsroom. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/

Khushi, K. (2024). Digital habits vs mental health [Dataset]. Kaggle. https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/khushikyad001/digital-habits-vs-mental-health

Khushi, K. (2024). Teen phone addiction and lifestyle survey [Dataset]. Kaggle. https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/khushikyad001/teen-phone-addiction-and-lifestyle-survey

Sharma, R. (2025). Apple product sales data (2007-2025) [Dataset]. Kaggle. https://www.kaggle.com/datasets

Note: This analysis is intended for educational and informational purposes. Parents and educators should consult with pediatricians and mental health professionals when making decisions about children’s screen time.