A recent informal study within one family challenges common perceptions about which generation is most engaged in excessive smartphone use. The investigation, sparked amid public debate over a new government ban on social media use by those under 16, revealed that an adult family member, rather than teenagers, had the highest screen time.

The experiment involved tracking smartphone usage across three generations over one week using built-in screen time monitoring tools. Participants included a 15-year-old girl, her 24-year-old sister who works in the financial sector, their 70-year-old grandmother, and their 57-year-old mother. Contrary to expectations, the mother logged the most daily screen time, averaging almost five hours per day, surpassing both her children and mother-in-law.

The mother’s activity was largely driven by Instagram, where she balances professional responsibilities as a parenting author with personal use. She also spent significant time messaging and consuming video content. The 15-year-old’s daily average was just over four hours, primarily on TikTok, Netflix, Snapchat, and Spotify. The grandmother’s screen time was close to the daughter’s, with much of her usage related to entertainment and communication, including internet shopping and music. The 24-year-old daughter registered the lowest daily screen time at around two hours, crediting productivity apps like ScreenZen for limiting social media access.

These findings align with existing research suggesting that parental screen habits strongly influence children’s phone use. A 2013 British Medical Journal study found that parents who spend more than two hours daily on recreational screen time are significantly more likely to raise children who do the same. Parental phone use is also linked to household dynamics, as children perceive inequity when adults use devices in front of them while restricting their own access.

The social media ban for under-16s aims to curb harmful effects of screen overuse but raises questions about enforcement and family relationships. Experts emphasize the importance of parental modeling in establishing healthy screen habits. Some suggest formal family agreements on phone use to promote accountability and mutual understanding.

The mother acknowledged the difficulty of enforcing restrictions on her children’s device use while maintaining separate rules for herself and expressed intention to reduce her own screen time. Meanwhile, opinions about the ban remain divided, with supporters citing protection from harmful content and opponents calling for broader changes in platform design and content moderation.

This informal family study highlights the complex interplay of generational habits, parental influence, and social norms in managing screen time, suggesting that addressing excessive smartphone use requires a holistic family approach rather than focusing solely on the youngest users.