Your Daily 150 Minutes at the Supermarket

When screen time becomes your personal best time

Be it through shopping, communication, romance or a smart home, the internet permeates every area of our lives. Ninety-five percent of all Germans use it regularly—across all age groups. Smartphones are our constant companions, but also laptops, smartwatches and digital assistants are increasingly becoming a normal part of life. Even lighting, heating and household appliances are more and more frequently “online.” Love, too, has arrived on the internet: Nearly one third of all adults have used a dating app at least once. Apps are now the most common source of new relationships. And because our everyday lives have become so digitalized, the average person in Germany spends 150 minutes each day in front of a screen.

Many people are surprised when they hear this number. In our daily lives, lots of things still seem to be analog. But it’s easy to overlook the fact that many of the things we once used in analog form have of course long since become digital—be it via media libraries or radio apps. At the same time, there are social and economic barriers that keep some people from accessing digital services at all. Thus, around 40 percent of people in Germany feel excluded—or they consciously distance themselves from digital options. Within this spectrum between matter-of-fact acceptance and skepticism, it appears that digital influence on everyday life is as multifaceted as our society itself.