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

But these declines started earlier, around 2012, so the main cause is probably screen time. —David Brooks, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2025

The Georgia town served as the location for the popular CW show's fictional Mystic Falls setting. Roerig and Kebbel, both 40, briefly shared screen time during The Vampire Diaries' first season in 2009 and final season in 2017. —Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Admittedly, one thing Field has a little less experience with is competing for his kids' attention with screen time. —Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 8 Apr. 2025

Rogan appeared as a panelist in the first special, and his screen time sparked backlash from some viewers on social media. —Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 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