Declines in non-digital social interaction among Americans, 2003–2017

It is unclear whether Americans spent less time on non-digital social interaction in the 2010s than in the 2000s. In the nationally representative American Time Use Survey administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (n = 191,558), U.S. residents 15 years of age and older spent 10 to 11 fewer minutes a day in non-digital social interaction during leisure time in 2017 compared to 2003, which translates to 67 fewer hours a year. The decline was primarily driven by adolescents and young adults ages from15 to 25, who spent between 21 and 23 fewer minutes per day on non-digital social interaction in 2017 compared to 2003, or 140 fewer hours a year. Thus, American adolescents and young adults spent less time on non-digital social interaction in the 2010s, with a less pronounced decline among those ages 26 and over.