Daily screen time by age group (table)
Academic IELTS Task 1 model answer describing a table of average daily screen time by age group across three countries — table image and band-8 answer.
Band 6.5
Prompt: The table below shows the average daily screen time, in hours, for four age groups in three countries in 2023. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The table gives information about the average number of hours per day that people in four age groups spent looking at screens in Japan, Brazil and Norway in 2023.
Overall, the 18–39 age group had the highest screen time in all three countries, while people aged 65 and over used screens the least. Brazil generally recorded higher figures than the other two countries.
In Brazil, adults aged 18–39 spent 6.9 hours a day on screens, which was the highest figure in the table. The under-18 group in Brazil also used screens for 5.8 hours. In Japan, the 18–39 group reached 5.6 hours and under-18s 4.1 hours, while in Norway the same groups were 4.8 and 3.4 hours.
Screen time fell in the older groups. People aged 40–64 spent between 2.9 and 4.1 hours, and those aged 65 and over used screens for only 1.5 hours in Norway, 1.8 in Japan and 2.4 in Brazil.
Band 7.5
Prompt: The table below shows the average daily screen time, in hours, for four age groups in three countries in 2023. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The table compares the average number of hours per day that four age groups spent using screens in Japan, Brazil and Norway in 2023.
Overall, screen time followed a similar pattern in all three countries: it peaked among 18–39-year-olds and then declined steadily with age, reaching its lowest point in the 65-and-over group. Brazilians recorded the highest usage across every age band, whereas Norwegians consistently spent the least time in front of screens.
The 18–39 group were the heaviest users everywhere, ranging from 4.8 hours in Norway to 5.6 in Japan and a peak of 6.9 hours in Brazil. Under-18s came second, with Brazil again leading at 5.8 hours, compared with 4.1 in Japan and 3.4 in Norway.
From the age of 40 onwards, the figures dropped markedly. The 40–64 group averaged between 2.9 and 4.1 hours, while those aged 65 and over used screens for just 1.5 hours in Norway, 1.8 in Japan and 2.4 in Brazil — roughly a third of the youngest adults' totals.