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

Limiting screen time before bed, limiting caffeine and alcohol, not spending too much time in bed while awake, and getting exercise can all help set you up for success at bedtime, Carvalho said. —Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025

Customize their experience on social media by adding parental controls, blocking certain hashtags (like #glowuproutines), and restricting their screen time. —​wendy Wisner, Parents, 10 Sep. 2025

More than just screen time, this fight is about authorship, ownership, and the right to be seen as fully human. —Okla Jones, Essence, 10 Sep. 2025

In addition, the plan is to launch an education and awareness initiative on screen time, one of the causes of inactivity, which will be led by the surgeon general. —Allison Aubrey, NPR, 9 Sep. 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