- More than half (52%) of students spend at least an hour a day using their phone for no specific reason when they feel they should be productive – almost double the national average (27%).
- Amid a constant stream of notifications and alerts, and cultural pressure to be available, students are on track to spend around 510 hours* each using their phones unintentionally during a university teaching year.
- Seven in ten (70%) say they often feel worse after spending longer on their phone than intended, while almost two thirds (64%) say cutting back could help them focus.
- Students record a Digital Intentionality Score of 54 out of 100 – nine points below the UK average – as Virgin Media O2 encourages them to assess their own digital habits as part of its broader Digital Wellbeing strategy.
22 October 2026: Students are on track to spend 510 hours* using their phones unintentionally over the university teaching year, according to new research from Virgin Media O2.
More than half (52%) say they spend at least an hour a day aimlessly using their phone when they want to be productive, almost double the national average (27%). Further, students estimate that around half (49%) of their total online time is unintentional, compared with 36% of the national population.
During study time, notifications, alerts and messages from apps compete for students’ attention, while pressure to stay available and respond can draw them back to their screens.
The findings form part of Virgin Media O2’s 18-month study into the UK’s digital wellbeing, which has generated more than 15,000 responses from people across the UK. The company has launched a Digital Wellbeing Manifesto, committing to better understand the impact of technology on people’s wellbeing and bring experts together to explore solutions.
As part of this, it’s encouraging students to check their Digital Intentionality Score, an interactive tool designed to help people understand their digital habits, and build a more intentional relationship with technology.
The battle for students’ attention
Push notifications and alerts built into apps, combined with the broader online culture, can make it difficult for students to use their phones as intentionally as they would like.
Almost two thirds of students (62%) pick up or check their phone at least 30 times a day without a specific reason, compared with 35% of phone users overall.
Four in five students (81%) say they sometimes pick up their phone and start using it without thinking, compared with 61% of phone users overall. More than a quarter (28%) say this unintentional use is most likely to happen while they are working or studying.
The research suggests that it’s not about a lack of willpower, with nearly seven in ten (69%) Brits believing platforms are deliberately built to keep us hooked. Over half (51%) blame push notifications for constant checking, while 40% say features like infinite scroll trap them online longer than intended.
Once they are on their phones, social media and short-form video can make it harder to stop. More than two-thirds of students say they frequently spend longer than intended checking social media (69%) or watching short-form videos (67%), while six in ten (60%) say features such as automatically loading feeds or videos keep them on their phone for longer than planned.
These habits can continue into the evening too, with almost half of all students (45%) saying the period before bed is one of the times they are most likely to pick up their phone without a specific reason.
The impact of always being available
The constant ‘noise’ from their phones is having a negative impact on students’ lives, with 70% saying they often feel worse after spending longer on their device than they intended – compared with four in ten (40%) phone users overall.
And students are clear about what they believe they could gain from spending less time on their phones without a specific reason. Almost two thirds (64%) say it could help them focus and avoid distractions, compared with 46% overall, while 42% say it could improve their productivity at work or in their studies – twice the number of phone users overall (21%).
Helping students build more intentional digital habits
With almost two thirds of students (65%) saying they would welcome tools or support to help manage their phone use, Virgin Media O2 is encouraging them to check their Digital Intentionality Score.
Developed in association with author and digital wellbeing expert, Seyi Akiwowo, the score helps people understand how intentional their phone use is and compare their behaviour against the UK average of 63 out of 100. Students score 54 out of 100 – nine points below the national average – with higher scores representing more intentional use.
Once complete, students will be assigned a behavioural profile and given personalised insights and practical guidance designed to support more intentional and balanced digital habits over time.
Dana Haidan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “Being connected has never been easier, but being in control of our attention has arguably never been harder. That’s the paradox facing a generation of students who rely on their phones for almost every aspect of daily life.
“What stands out is that students recognise how the noise from their phones and the cultural pressure to always be available are affecting their focus, and many want help to manage it. We want to make it easier for people to understand where their time is going and give them practical ways to use technology more on their own terms.
“That’s an important part of our digital wellbeing work at Virgin Media O2 – helping people get the benefits of being connected without feeling like their attention is constantly being pulled elsewhere.”
Paddy Crump, a member of the Digital Rebels, a youth advisory board to FlippGen, an organisation working to help young people build healthier relationships with tech, said:
“For young people today, their online world and their offline world no longer exist as separate spaces, and our phones and technology are woven into and shape every part of young people’s lives. Young people recognise both the opportunities and the harms of digital life, but instead of simply rejecting technology, they want technology that better works for them.
“Young people are aware that they struggle with unintentional phone use, but not only do they recognise it, they actively want more agency over their use of digital devices. For us, that comes with a better understanding from a digital literacy education that is empathetic to youth digital experience, and from better regulation of algorithms which are designed to be purposefully addictive.
“That is why FlippGen’s work is rooted in “Know Tech not No Tech”, and we draw on our lived experience of growing up in a digital world.”
The findings form part of Virgin Media O2’s Digital Wellbeing strategy, which combines research, practical tools and long-term commitments to help people build more intentional relationships with technology.
It also follows Virgin Media O2’s Digital Wellbeing Exchange, held on Monday (19 October), which brought together academics from the University of Cambridge, thought-leaders and authors such as Jamie Bartlett and Laura Bates, plus policymakers and industry leaders to explore how we can create a healthier digital future. The event focused on the impact of Generative AI, online harms and devices on people’s digital wellbeing.
The outcomes will form part of major new research being led by the University of Cambridge, funded by Virgin Media O2. Over the next five years, ‘The Digital Wellbeing Observatory’ will track how the British public are using Generative AI, and its effects on health and wellbeing, through a multi-year series of surveys and community-focused roadshows.
The Digital Wellbeing Manifesto forms part of Virgin Media O2’s Responsible Business Plan. Find out more here.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Methodology Notes:
Strand Partners’ specialist research team conducted four nationally representative online surveys of UK populations: 6,002 smartphone owners between 10/04/2026–15/04/2026; 6,136 people between 11/03/2026–16/03/2026; 2,039 people between 28/11/2025–01/12/2025; and 1,004 people between 18/12/2024–20/12/2024. All surveys were representative by age, gender and NUTS 1 region. Strand Partners is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
*The 510-hour estimate was calculated by converting student survey respondents’ answers on daily phone use into hours using the midpoint of each answer band, giving an average of five hours a day. Students reported that 48.6% of their total online time is unintentional, totalling around 2 hours 25 minutes of unintentional phone use per day. Over a 30-week teaching year (210 days, or 30 weeks multiplied by 7 days), this comes to approximately 510 hours. The estimate assumes that the unintentional share of online time also applies to phone use and that daily use stays the same throughout. The comparison to lectures assumes each lecture lasts one hour.
The survey’s “Student” category is not limited to university students. This group includes anyone that gave their working status as a “student” in this survey.
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