Always On?

If you sometimes feel like you’re online pretty much nonstop, we have good news for you: you’re not alone. According to a recent Pew Research survey, 4 in 10 American adults say they’re almost always online, up from just 24 percent claiming to be constantly online in 2015. It's one of the negative side effects of the rise of smartphones: many people are finding it increasingly hard to "disconnect".

According to Pew's findings, young adults find it particularly hard to be "offline", with 62 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds saying they're constantly online. The main reason for this trend is the ubiquity of smartphones which 97 percent of those aged 18 to 49 saying they own one. At the other end of the age range, just 15 percent of those aged 65 and older said to be almost constantly online. In that age group, 76 percent of respondents owned a smartphone.

In recent years, smartphone addiction and digital well-being has become a growing point of discussion, with many experts asking smartphone makers and social media companies to make their products less addictive. And while the former have at least started to implement tools to manage or limit screen time, social media companies have very little incentive to follow suit, as their business model depends on high user engagement.