Americans Spend 23 Hours Per Week Online

New research has found that the average user spends 23 hours every week emailing, texting, using social media and communicating online in other ways according to a report on NDTV Gadgets.

The number equals to nearly 14 percent of the total time in a week and all that time is taking a toll on users, researchers say.

NDTV Gadgets reported:

“54 percent of survey respondents said they have tried to decrease their reliance on technology in the past year in favour of more in-person contact, ‘BusinessNewsDaily’ reported.

“As many as 62 percent of web users in the US say they hope to be able to decrease tech usage in the coming year so they can communicate face to face.”

Below is an image provided on eMarketer showing just what Americans are using to communicate with others:

While Facebook and other popular sites are still frequently used, the eMarketer report stated that “Photo-focused sites, particularly suited to mobile, seem to be especially popular.”

Some of the stats are as follows:

“More than 75 percent of users checked email, texts, Facebook and Instagram at least one time a day.

“Instagram saw 70 percent of users logging in daily, and the relatively new Snapchat was just behind, with 67 percent of its users logging in daily.

“Two-thirds of users also said they check YouTube once per day, while nearly 60 percent check Google+ daily. Just 40 percent of LinkedIn users check the site daily, but nearly half check it several times a week.”

The eMarketer report also stated:

“Even as web users report a desire to disconnect, and discussion circulates about Facebook users decreasing time spent, it remains to be seen whether social users will follow through on that promise to log off, or perhaps simply translate their time spent on social to the sites that best suit their communication needs.”

Social media plays a very large part in our everyday lives. One big campaign going on is the Restore the 4th, which is a protest Planned Against NSA Spying Program

There are close to 100 protests planned for the 4th of July, with an interactive map published on the Restore the Fourth website detailing the locations.

A number of websites have joined in Restore the Fourth’s plans for 4th of July protests. Reddit, Mozilla, and WordPress are among those planning to take action.

What do you think of the news that Americans spend close to 23 hours a week online? Habit or necessity?

[Image via Shutterstock/Stephanie Frey]