The Great Unscrolling: How Americans Are Saving Money and Finding Joy Offline

You finish a 20-minute scroll and feel worse than when you started. That feeling is pushing more Americans to put their phones down and pick up something they can hold in their hands. To explore the shift, we surveyed 1,006 U.S. adults about phone fatigue, screen-time guilt, impulse spending, and the offline activities they're choosing instead. What we found points to a quiet movement away from screens and toward hobbies that leave people calmer, more focused, and better off financially.

Key Takeaways

• 54% of Americans feel guilty about how much time they spend on their phones, 76% say their phone use has hurt at least one part of their life, and 53% feel a negative emotion after just 30 minutes on social media. Yet, doomscrolling continues daily for the majority.

• Americans were roughly 10 times more likely to feel drained after 30 minutes on social media (33%) than after 30 minutes on a hands-on hobby (3%). After a hobby, 28% feel calm, 22% happy, and 16% present.

• 16% of Americans spend 7 or more hours on their phone every day, equivalent to a full workday including lunch (11% spend 7 to 8 hours, 2% spend 9 to 10 hours, and 3% spend more than 10).

• 77% of Americans have cut back on phone use, are actively trying to, or want to; among Gen Z, that number hits 86%.

• More than 2 in 5 Americans (42%) impulse-buy while scrolling, spending a median of $50 a month. Americans who cut back are saving $600 a year, with 35% putting this money toward savings or debt payoff.

• 51% of Americans have purchased or considered a hobby kit specifically to reduce phone time. Gen Z leads at 23%, compared to just 6% among baby boomers.

• Americans were roughly 13 times more likely to say they're interested in painting as a screen-time alternative (68%) than to currently turn to painting when they unplug (5%).

What Phone Fatigue Is Doing to Americans

The clearest sign that something is off is that most people don't feel good about how they're using their phones. More than half of Americans (54%) feel very or somewhat guilty about how much time they spend scrolling, and the toll is showing up across nearly every dimension of daily life.

Where Phone Guilt Hits Hardest

• Among women, 60% feel very or somewhat guilty about their phone time, compared to 47% of men.

• Among Gen Z, 65% feel very or somewhat guilty about their phone time, compared to 60% of millennials, 42% of Gen X, and 26% of baby boomers.

• Among Gen Z, 48% spend 5 or more hours on their phones daily, compared to 38% of millennials and 10% of baby boomers.

When Doomscrolling Happens

Most Americans pull out their phones at night: 3 in 5 (60%) say they're most likely to doomscroll in the evening on the couch (31%) or late at night in bed (29%), turning the time meant for winding down into another scroll session.

How Hobbies Compare to Social Media

The emotional payoff difference between phones and hobbies is big, and it shows up after just 30 minutes.

• About 53% of Americans feel a negative emotion (drained, anxious, or stressed) after 30 minutes on social media, compared to just 5% after a hands-on hobby

• After 30 minutes on social media, more Americans feel anxious (14%) or stressed (6%) than feel happy (5%) or creative (5%).

• Americans were roughly 3 to 4 times more likely to feel focused (14% vs. 4%) and creative (15% vs. 5%) after a hands-on hobby than after social media.

How Americans Are Trading Screens for Hands-On Hobbies

The pushback against doomscrolling is widespread: 77% of Americans have already cut back on phone use, are actively trying to do so, or want to. The activities they're turning to are simple and tactile, such as hobby kits bought as digital detox tools or given as gifts to help someone unplug.

Who's Cutting Back and Why

• Among Gen Z, 86% have cut back on phone use, are trying to cut back, or want to, compared to 81% of millennials, 71% of Gen X, and 46% of baby boomers.

• bout 38% of Americans cut back on phone use in the past year, but the success rate was mixed: half stuck with it (19% of all Americans), and half went back to old habits (19%)

• Among Americans actively cutting back, 57% say they want to be more present, 49% feel anxious or burned out, and 33% are sleeping poorly.

What Americans Are Doing Instead

• The top offline activities Americans are turning to instead of their phones are reading (42%), exercise (36%), walking or hiking (33%), playing with pets (25%), and cooking or baking (22%).

• More than 1 in 2 Americans (51%) have either purchased (17%) or considered (34%) a hobby kit specifically to reduce phone time.

• Among Gen Z, 23% have purchased a hobby kit specifically to spend less time on their phones, compared to 18% of millennials and just 6% of baby boomers.

• Among women, 21% have purchased a hobby kit (compared to 13% of men), and 32% have given one as a gift (compared to 27% of men).

The Untapped Appeal of Painting

• Across generations, 75% of Gen Z, 70% of millennials, 64% of Gen X, and 55% of baby boomers say they have at least some interest in painting as a screen-time alternative.

• About 68% of Americans say they're interested in painting as a screen-time alternative, but only 5% currently turn to painting when they want to unplug, a 13x gap between intent and action.

• About 19% of Americans say painting a pet portrait would be most appealing if they took up painting, climbing to 29% among Gen Z.

• When picking a subject, 12% of Americans (and 16% of Gen Z) say painting a meaningful photo or memory, like a wedding or family moment, would be most appealing.

The Price of Scrolling, and What You Can Get by Cutting Back

Phone-while-scrolling spending stretches well beyond shopping apps, and Americans who manage to cut back are putting real money back in their pockets.

Where Doomscrolling Money Goes

• 42% of Americans say they impulse-buy while scrolling, with the typical impulse shopper spending about $50 a month.

• About 29% of Americans impulse-buy on shopping apps, but the categories also include food delivery (19%), in-app purchases like games and premium features (12%), products from social media ads (11%), late-night shopping (11%), subscriptions (10%), and products recommended by influencers (9%).

What Saving Looks Like

• Among Americans who successfully cut back, 42% report improved focus and productivity, 41% report better mood, 32% report better sleep, and 27% report more time for hobbies and creativity.

• Among Americans who cut back and redirected their savings, they most often put it toward savings or paying off debt (35%), followed by hobby supplies and experiences (tied at 16% each).

What Improved After Cutting Back

For Americans who reduced scrolling, the emotional gains often outpaced the financial ones, suggesting the real reward of unscrolling is felt before it's counted.

• Among Americans who successfully cut back, more than 2 in 5 (42%) report improved focus and productivity, 41% report better mood, 32% report better sleep, and 27% report more time for hobbies and creativity.

• Wellness improvements outpaced financial ones: 42% of Americans who cut back report better focus, and 41% report better mood, while just 18% report improved finances, suggesting people feel the emotional payoff more strongly than the dollar payoff.

Methodology

We surveyed 1,006 Americans to explore phone use, doomscrolling, and hands-on hobbies. The average age of respondents was 41; 50% were female, and 49% were male. Generationally, 9% were baby boomers, 23% were Gen X, 50% were millennials, and 18% were Gen Z. Percentages in this study may not total 100% exactly because of rounding or not all answers being shown.

About Paint Me Like

Paint Me Like creates creative kits designed to help you unwind through paint-by-numbers and diamond painting. We transform your favorite photos into custom paint by numbers kits, custom diamond paintings, and custom cross stitch kits, so you can turn meaningful memories into hands-on creative experiences. Paint Me Like makes it easy to slow down, reset, and enjoy the calm that comes from creating something with your own hands.

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