Attention / 05

Leisure vs. Recommender Screen Time

The attention question is not just how much screen time exists, but who chooses what appears.

Leisure screen hours: chosen vs. served

Daily leisure screen hours split between recommender-driven and non-recommender use.

Recommender-drivenNon-recommender
0h1h2h3h4h5h 1995200020052010201520202024 Year Hours per day Recommender-driven: Year 2024, Hours per day 3.92hNon-recommender: Year 2024, Hours per day 3.08h Recommender-driven: Year 1995, Hours per day 0hRecommender-driven: Year 1996, Hours per day 0.01hRecommender-driven: Year 1997, Hours per day 0.02hRecommender-driven: Year 1998, Hours per day 0.03hRecommender-driven: Year 1999, Hours per day 0.04hRecommender-driven: Year 2000, Hours per day 0.06hRecommender-driven: Year 2001, Hours per day 0.1hRecommender-driven: Year 2002, Hours per day 0.15hRecommender-driven: Year 2003, Hours per day 0.22hRecommender-driven: Year 2004, Hours per day 0.32hRecommender-driven: Year 2005, Hours per day 0.45hRecommender-driven: Year 2006, Hours per day 0.65hRecommender-driven: Year 2007, Hours per day 0.9hRecommender-driven: Year 2008, Hours per day 1.15hRecommender-driven: Year 2009, Hours per day 1.4hRecommender-driven: Year 2010, Hours per day 1.7hRecommender-driven: Year 2011, Hours per day 2.06hRecommender-driven: Year 2012, Hours per day 2.41hRecommender-driven: Year 2013, Hours per day 2.7hRecommender-driven: Year 2014, Hours per day 3hRecommender-driven: Year 2015, Hours per day 3.12hRecommender-driven: Year 2016, Hours per day 3.36hRecommender-driven: Year 2017, Hours per day 3.51hRecommender-driven: Year 2018, Hours per day 3.66hRecommender-driven: Year 2019, Hours per day 3.62hRecommender-driven: Year 2020, Hours per day 3.9hRecommender-driven: Year 2021, Hours per day 3.86hRecommender-driven: Year 2022, Hours per day 3.8hRecommender-driven: Year 2023, Hours per day 3.86hRecommender-driven: Year 2024, Hours per day 3.92hNon-recommender: Year 1995, Hours per day 3.8hNon-recommender: Year 1996, Hours per day 3.89hNon-recommender: Year 1997, Hours per day 3.98hNon-recommender: Year 1998, Hours per day 4.07hNon-recommender: Year 1999, Hours per day 4.26hNon-recommender: Year 2000, Hours per day 4.44hNon-recommender: Year 2001, Hours per day 4.5hNon-recommender: Year 2002, Hours per day 4.55hNon-recommender: Year 2003, Hours per day 4.68hNon-recommender: Year 2004, Hours per day 4.78hNon-recommender: Year 2005, Hours per day 4.85hNon-recommender: Year 2006, Hours per day 4.85hNon-recommender: Year 2007, Hours per day 4.9hNon-recommender: Year 2008, Hours per day 4.85hNon-recommender: Year 2009, Hours per day 4.8hNon-recommender: Year 2010, Hours per day 4.7hNon-recommender: Year 2011, Hours per day 4.44hNon-recommender: Year 2012, Hours per day 4.19hNon-recommender: Year 2013, Hours per day 4hNon-recommender: Year 2014, Hours per day 3.8hNon-recommender: Year 2015, Hours per day 3.78hNon-recommender: Year 2016, Hours per day 3.64hNon-recommender: Year 2017, Hours per day 3.49hNon-recommender: Year 2018, Hours per day 3.34hNon-recommender: Year 2019, Hours per day 3.38hNon-recommender: Year 2020, Hours per day 3.3hNon-recommender: Year 2021, Hours per day 3.34hNon-recommender: Year 2022, Hours per day 3.3hNon-recommender: Year 2023, Hours per day 3.24hNon-recommender: Year 2024, Hours per day 3.08h
Data: attention-hours.csv attention-hours.xlsx

Recommender share of leisure screen time

Share of leisure screen time attributed to algorithmic recommendation.

Recommender share
0%10%20%30%40%50%60% 1995200020052010201520202024 Year Share of leisure screen time Recommender share: Year 2024, Share of leisure screen time 56% Recommender share: Year 1995, Share of leisure screen time 0%Recommender share: Year 1996, Share of leisure screen time 0.3%Recommender share: Year 1997, Share of leisure screen time 0.5%Recommender share: Year 1998, Share of leisure screen time 0.7%Recommender share: Year 1999, Share of leisure screen time 0.9%Recommender share: Year 2000, Share of leisure screen time 1.3%Recommender share: Year 2001, Share of leisure screen time 2.2%Recommender share: Year 2002, Share of leisure screen time 3.2%Recommender share: Year 2003, Share of leisure screen time 4.5%Recommender share: Year 2004, Share of leisure screen time 6.3%Recommender share: Year 2005, Share of leisure screen time 8.5%Recommender share: Year 2006, Share of leisure screen time 11.8%Recommender share: Year 2007, Share of leisure screen time 15.5%Recommender share: Year 2008, Share of leisure screen time 19.2%Recommender share: Year 2009, Share of leisure screen time 22.6%Recommender share: Year 2010, Share of leisure screen time 26.6%Recommender share: Year 2011, Share of leisure screen time 31.7%Recommender share: Year 2012, Share of leisure screen time 36.5%Recommender share: Year 2013, Share of leisure screen time 40.3%Recommender share: Year 2014, Share of leisure screen time 44.1%Recommender share: Year 2015, Share of leisure screen time 45.2%Recommender share: Year 2016, Share of leisure screen time 48%Recommender share: Year 2017, Share of leisure screen time 50.1%Recommender share: Year 2018, Share of leisure screen time 52.3%Recommender share: Year 2019, Share of leisure screen time 51.7%Recommender share: Year 2020, Share of leisure screen time 54.2%Recommender share: Year 2021, Share of leisure screen time 53.6%Recommender share: Year 2022, Share of leisure screen time 53.5%Recommender share: Year 2023, Share of leisure screen time 54.4%Recommender share: Year 2024, Share of leisure screen time 56%
Data: attention-hours.csv attention-hours.xlsx

Description

This module separates user-directed screen time from algorithmically served leisure time and tracks the recommender share.

Methodology

Leisure screen-time estimates are decomposed into recommender-driven and non-recommender use, then expressed as both hours and share of total screen time.

Data

All chart files for this module are local to this research folder.

Sources

Limitations

Historical estimates before the platform era are reconstructed. The distinction is conceptual and depends on how products blend search, subscription, social, and feed modes.