How much screen time is too much for an adult?

I don't think there's a number. An hour on a video call with your sister and an hour of news at 2 a.m. count the same on a screen time report. They don't feel the same.

A better test is whether the time costs you something you'd rather keep, like sleep or time with your family. If it does, that's your answer, whatever the number says. If you want the numbers anyway, I keep a sourced list at phone habits statistics.

Even the numbers are shaky. A review of 106 comparisons found that people's guesses about their own screen time line up only moderately with what their phones record (Parry and colleagues, 2021).

Skip the daily cap and change one window instead. The hour before bed is a good place to start.

Two questions find your starting place: Find Your Starting Place.