screen time

noun

1

: the amount of time someone or something appears on screen in a movie or television show

… the widespread practice of product placement (in which companies buy screen time for their brands) …

—Celia Wren

Peck's role is only a cameo—23 minutes of screen time scattered through six and a half hours of edited film …

—John Skow

2

: time spent watching television, playing a video game, or using an electronic device with a screen (such as a smartphone or tablet)

Concerns about children spending too much time on digital devices—'screen time'—and becoming overdependent on these devices are very real for many teachers and parents.

—Nicky Hockly

If yours is like most American families with kids under age 5, your child probably watches between three and four hours of television a day. That's a lot of screen time …

—Debra Kent

Examples of screen time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Indeed, millennials spend over 60 hours per week sitting due to long commutes, desk jobs, and screen time, according to a study by scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of California, Riverside. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 15 Feb. 2025

Parents must recognize the detrimental effects of excessive cellphone use and prioritize after-school activities and homework over screen time. —Ellen Glickman, Boston Herald, 14 Feb. 2025

The massive big bad dragon known as Red Death also gets notable screen time, in the clip, below. —Lauren Huff, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025

Expect Taylor Swift to get as much, if not more, screen time as some players on the field during Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. —Troy Smith, Axios, 8 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for screen time

• airtime
• bedtime
• daytime
• downtime
• enzyme
• halftime
• lifetime
• longtime
• lunchtime
• mealtime
• meantime
• nighttime