What Americans say is the biggest drawback of smartphones

Smartphones are now woven into daily life for many Americans, helping them keep up with news, stay in touch and handle routine tasks. Still, a new Pew Research Center survey suggests many people also see a major downside.

Research from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel was conducted with 9,750 respondents.

Survey finds many adults say smartphones reduce sleep

Overall, 41% of U.S. adults said using a smartphone hurts the amount of sleep they get, while just 5% said it helps them sleep. Nearly half, 46%, reported no positive or negative effect on sleep.

Views varied sharply by age. Among adults ages 18 to 29, 62% said smartphone use hurts how much sleep they get. That dropped to 52% for those ages 30 to 49, 36% for adults 50 to 64 and 14% for people 65 and older.

A similar pattern showed up when respondents were asked about productivity. Nearly half of adults under 30, 49%, said smartphones hurt how productive they are. That compares with 43% of those ages 30 to 49, 28% of adults 50 to 64 and 15% of adults 65 and older.

Phones drew a more mixed response on mood. Overall, 22% said smartphones hurt their mood, 18% said they help and 51% said they make no difference.

Many say they use their phones more than they want to

The survey also found broad concern about screen time, with many Americans saying they spend more time on their phones than they would like.

In all, 53% of U.S. adults said they spend too much time on smartphones, while 36% said their usage is about right. Just 3% said they spend too little time on their devices.

In the survey, 41% of U.S. adults said their phones hurt the amount of sleep they get. (Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Younger adults were especially likely to say they overuse their phones. Seven in ten adults ages 18 to 29 said they spend too much time on smartphones. That compares with 64% of adults ages 30 to 49, 49% of those ages 50 to 64 and 25% of adults 65 and older.

Despite concerns, smartphones still offer clear benefits

Even with those concerns, Americans still pointed to major benefits.

About 73% of U.S. adults said their smartphone helps them stay informed, and 51% said it helps them feel connected to other people. By contrast, only 3% said their phone hurts how informed they are, and 12% said it harms how connected they feel.

The Source: The information came from Wave 194 of the American Trends Panel, Pew Research Center’s nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. The survey was conducted with 9,750 panelists. This story was reported from Los Angeles.