How much time do people spend on YouTube?

Quick answer

People search this one constantly, usually right after realizing how much time they spend on YouTube themselves. Here are numbers from real sources, and how to see your own.

What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.

Open 125x

The big number

Back in 2017, YouTube announced that people around the world were watching a billion hours of YouTube every day (YouTube, cross-posted on Google's India blog, Feb 2017). That's the last daily figure we found from YouTube itself, so treat it as a floor from years ago.

Teens

In Pew Research Center's 2024 survey of US teens ages 13 to 17, 9 in 10 said they use YouTube, 73% said they go on it daily, and 15% described their use as almost constant (Pew Research Center, Dec 2024). Boys were more likely than girls to say almost constantly, 19% vs 11%.

How to check your own time

In the YouTube app, tap your profile and look for Time watched, where available.
iPhone: Settings, Screen Time, See All App Activity.
Android: Settings, Digital Wellbeing.
On a computer, browser add-ons can track time per site.

How much is too much?

There's no official number. A better question: how much of it did you actually choose?

Watching a great 2 hour interview on purpose is different from 2 hours of autoplay. Track one week, then sort it into 'glad I watched' and 'wish I hadn't.'

Spend less, get the same info

125x puts a summary on every video from your subscriptions so you can read the gist and watch only the keepers. More tips in how to stop wasting time on YouTube.

FAQ: questions people ask

How many hours do people watch YouTube per day?

YouTube said in 2017 that people watched a billion hours a day worldwide. Individual time varies a lot.

How many teens use YouTube every day?

Pew Research Center's 2024 survey found 73% of US teens use YouTube daily, and 15% say almost constantly.

How do I see how much time I spend on YouTube?

Check Time watched in the YouTube app where available, or your phone's Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing settings.