How Much Gen Z & Millennials Would Earn If Screen Time Paid Minimum Wage
Your phone probably isn’t making you money — in fact, between its monthly bill and the time it drains from your day, it’s costing you — but what if it could generate income?
For millions of Gen Zers and millennials, their daily screen time essentially adds up to what could be a part-time job. Instead of getting a paycheck, though, most people are getting texts, alerts, TikTok videos, streaming recs and the occasional online shopping impulse.
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Telephone (by the) Numbers
According to a 2025 report from health data management firm Harmony Healthcare IT (based on a survey conducted in December 2024), Americans spend an average of five hours and 16 minutes per day on their phones. Younger generations, though, spend even more time connecting to their screens:
Gen Z averages six hours and 27 minutes of daily phone screen time, while millennials average about five hours and 28 minutes. No matter how old you are, that’s a lot of time on the phone — roughly a quarter of the entire day.
To put that in context, let’s look at how much that phone time would pay if it were the same as an entry-level job.
Using the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, here’s what Gen Z and millennials would earn if their screen time came with a paycheck.
Running the Numbers for Gen Z
Gen Z has grown up with smartphones as a central part of their everyday lives. Phones are where most of them socialize, shop, bank, job-hunt and seek entertainment. That pocket convenience, though, comes with a lot of staring at a screen.
Spending six hours and 26 minutes daily on their phone, at the current minimum wage, means that a Gen Z person could earn $46.76 daily — that means $327.32 per week, $1,418 monthly and, finally, about $17,067 yearly.
That’s enough to cover a year of many recurring expenses, from streaming subscriptions to phone bills to groceries. To look at it from a slightly different angle: were members of Gen Z to use their phone time to get a second job at minimum wage, they’d add $17,000 to their yearly savings.
How Millennials Compare
Millennials were the last generation to experience a smartphone-free childhood, but the ever-present glowing screens are now a massive part of this generation’s adulthood.
With an average of five hours and 28 minutes of phone use per day, millennials making minimum wage for their phone time could earn $39.67 daily. That adds up to $277.69 weekly or $1,203 per month, with an overall annual pay of about $14,479.
Not quite as much as Gen Z, but if time truly is money, one could argue phones cost millennials nearly $15,000 per year.
The Bottom Line
Obviously, no one is going to start getting paid to doomscroll X or watch their friends’ reels on Instagram. This exercise does highlight something important, though: You time is a valuable asset, even f you’re not thinking of it that way.
The Harmony Healthcare IT survey found that around 53% of Americans want to cut down on their phone usage, stating they wanted better time management and improved focus. While we have likely grown too accustomed to our phones to ever actually ditch them completely, viewing your time as a financially valuable asset could motivate you to spend a little less time getting a screen tan.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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