Americans lose 36 days a year to content consumption and its worse for Gen Z

The average American feels like they lose three days per month to content consumption, according to recent research.The study of 2,000 nationally representative Americans revealed that 36 days of our year are lost to scrolling, streaming, and bingeing. And it’s worse for younger people — Gen Z Americans feel like they lose closer to five days per month.The comprehensive study on media consumption trends by Talker Research also showed that excessive content consumption can result in feelings of guilt, with the average respondent having three pangs of guilt per month, as well. On average, Americans consume about six hours of content per day, with Gen Z Americans consuming closer to seven.With World Mental Health Day on October 10, the data split respondents by self-reported mental health and found that poor mental health and media consumption are directly linked.Those with “very poor” mental health lose nearly six days per month to content consumption, while 19% of people who self-report their mental health as “very poor” feel they lose 15 or more days per month.In comparison, those with excellent and good mental health lose the least days (2.7). This correlated to feelings of guilt, as well.Those with“very poor” mental health feel guilty the most often, with seven times per month. Nearly half of those polled (42%) admit they feel like they consume “too much” media and 36% say their mood is “often” negatively affected by something they see on social media. Gen Z Americans were far away the most likely to feel like they consumed too much media, with 66% agreeing with that sentiment.Interestingly, those with “very poor” mental health were also found to be the most likely to use TikTok regularly (38%), and the most likely to report being “very likely” to be on their phone while watching something (46%).Dr.

Sham Singh, an MD, Ph.D.Psychology and a Harbor UCLA-trained psychiatrist at Winit Clinic, offered insight into managing scr...