Set hard limits on short videos and aimless scrolling
On average, Chinese people spend 5 hours and 37 minutes online per day. For those who actually go online that day, the average time is 6 hours and 3 minutes. Using the same calculation method in 2018, the average was only 2 hours and 42 minutes. This is the highest figure in this section. Cutting just one hour off daily adds up to 365 extra hours per year.
No cost at all. It only takes a few minutes to act: turn o…
Chinese residents spend an average of 5 hours and 37 minutes online each day. For those who actually use the i…
No cost at all. It only takes a few minutes to act: turn off notifications, delete the app, or set a daily time limit for it. The real challenge is resisting the urge to open it.
Chinese residents spend an average of 5 hours and 37 minutes online each day. For those who actually use the internet on a given day, the average is 6 hours and 3 minutes. People who accessed the internet on that day account for 92.9% of the total population. These are 2024 statistics. In 2018, the average was only 2 hours and 42 minutes using the same calculation method, which is also the highest figure in this section. Reducing online time by one hour daily adds 365 hours to a person’s year. According to the China Internet Network Information Center, as of June 2025, netizens spend an average of 30.6 hours online per week, an increase of 1.9 hours compared to half a year prior. There are 1.068 billion short video users, accounting for 95.1% of all netizens.
国家统计局 (2024). 第三次全国时间利用调查公报（第二号）. https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202410/t20241031_1957216.html；国家统计局 (2019). 2018年全国时间利用调查公报. https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202302/t20230203_1900224.html；中国互联网络信息中心 (2025). 第 56 次《中国互联网络发展状况统计报告》. https://www.cnnic.net.cn/NMediaFile/2025/0730/MAIN1753846666507QEK67ZS9DH.pdf
Open source linkOnline time includes time spent on work, study, and social interaction, so not all of it is wasted. It is rated as grade C because no studies have calculated exactly how much time is saved after such limits are put in place and how that time is then used; we only have overall statistics. For the specific activity of browsing others’ social media posts, a randomized trial has been conducted to measure the time saved and changes in mood; details can be found in Section 3, Item 21.