Always On

Always On
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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, 1 in 4 American adults say they’re online almost constantly, with another 43 percent claiming to go online several times per day.

Teenagers seem to find it even harder to disconnect, with nearly half of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 saying they are constantly online. The main reason for this trend is the ubiquity of smartphones which 95 percent of teenagers say they have access to. Compared to a similar survey conducted four years ago, the share of teens who are always online has nearly doubled, suggesting that young people’s digital lives demand more and more attention and threaten to crowd out real-life, personal interactions.

In recent months, smartphone addiction has become a growing point of discussion, with many experts asking smartphone makers and social media companies to make their products less addictive. Ultimately most parents think it’s their own responsibility to manage their children’s device use though, as a recent survey by Common Sense Media found out.