Addicted to your phone? New data suggests a usage sweet spot

New data shows those who spent 10 hours or less using the internet reported better mental health than those Canadians who spent 20 or more hours online.

The amount of time you spend online or on your phone can be linked to lower levels of mental health or dissatisfaction in friendships and relationships.

But new data from Statistics Canada finds there could be a possible sweet spot for how long you can use digital technology without too much impact — though some experts caution it’s all about regulation.

In a report put out by StatCan on Monday that highlights data from the 2020 and 2022 Canadian Internet Use Surveys (CIUS), the agency found of those who took a break from the internet in 2022, 44 per cent reported having very good or excellent mental health.

Yet while taking a break away from the internet can often be seen as a benefit, the report noted there may be even more benefit for those who keep their time online lower overall.

For example, Canadians who reported spending less than 10 hours weekly watching online content reported very good or excellent mental health at a rate of 16 percentage points higher than those who watched content for 20 or more hours per week.

Whether that 10-hour limit is a sweet spot, however, is what University of Alberta professor David Chorney said can depend on a variety of facts such as your line of work, relationship status or methods of communication.

“What’s too much? What’s too little? There can never be too little I don’t think,” he said in an interview with Global News.

“Try to honestly regulate yourself and know how much time you are in front of a screen and be honest with yourself is something I think we all have to do at the end of the day. We have to understand that spending too much time in front of a screen is not good for us.”