The Full-Time Job You Didn’t Apply For: How Aussies Work 43 Hours a Week Online

Feature Blog Posts | MATE | 28 April 2025

You’re working over 43 hours a week and not getting paid a dollar for it. No annual leave. No sick leave — nothing.

Don’t believe us?

Then, take a look at the recent research. According to the Digital Report 2024, the average Aussie spends 6 hours and 14 minutes online every single day. Altogether, that adds up to more than 43 hours a week. It’s like having a second full-time job. And it’s not the kind that comes with superannuation or an HR department you can speak to. It’s just endless scrolling, swiping, streaming and clicking.

How does all of that equate to a job? Glad you asked. Let’s break down what this unexpected gig really looks like and how you can reclaim a bit of that time for yourself.

How we’re really spending our time online

Sometimes you’re scrolling because you’re bored on the commute home, and other times, you’re online for the “important stuff” — things like work emails, online banking, checking the news or the latest political updates. But let’s be honest with ourselves here … we mostly use the internet for entertainment.

To break some of this down, we crunched the numbers, and they just might shock you:

• Social media scrolling: 2 hours, 23 minutes
• Browsing, news, streaming and other: 3 hours and 53 minutes

Did you catch that? One-third of your screen time is spent on social media, while the rest is banking, entertainment and information finding. Crazy, right? That’s a whole lot of passive screen time overall.

Where do all the hours go?

Let’s break it all down even further. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) recorded the percentage of Aussie internet users who were active online during a 6-month period in 2022.

That means we’re not all just hopping online for the odd video or quick message to mum or your mates — we’re living in a world where the internet is touching just about every part of our daily lives. From entertainment and news to banking, shopping, and even healthcare.

News and info

• 93% of adults go online to read the news or search for information
• 98% use search engines, making Googling practically universal
• Online news has overtaken traditional TV as a primary news source

Messaging and social media

• 81% use social media, and 82% are on messaging apps
• 65% of us used video calls in 2022
• Email remains a staple — still used across work, admin and personal life

Streaming and gaming

• 80% of adults stream videos or movies/shows weekly
• 78% stream audio like music or podcasts
• 81% of Australians play video games, from mobile games to epic console adventures

Shopping and banking

• 87% of users shop online
• Around 80% bank online, handling everything from transfers to paying bills

Work and study

• 45% of adults worked from home online
• 28% studied online during the same period
• 52% accessed telehealth — up massively from pre-COVID levels

The big picture

So, that means Aussies everywhere use the internet for just about anything and everything. Information, connections, entertainment, learning… you name it, we’re doing it online.

Scrollonomics: welcome to the attention economy

Tech platforms are in the business of capturing and, more importantly, keeping your attention. For every swipe, tap, click or scroll, you’re putting money in someone’s pocket.

Think about it like this: whenever you click on a webpage, you often find a bunch of ads either along the sides or throughout whatever content you’re reading. Sometimes, it’ll be an ad at the beginning of a YouTube video. For every one of these ads you view, someone else makes money off of it.

They’ll earn even more coin if the ad interests you enough to click on it. And more again if you end up making a purchase.

Not only that, but they’re gathering information on you — your data, specifically.

The digital world is built to keep you scrolling, watching and clicking away. With autoplay videos, push notifications and infinite feeds, it’s no wonder we’re all glued to our screens. It’s all part of a strategy to maximise our screen time.

It kind of puts ‘doom-scrolling’ into perspective, huh?

What else can you do with 43 hours a week?

If you had 43 hours, without changing a single thing outside of your internet usage, what could you actually manage to do?

• Learn a new language using apps like Duolingo or Babbel
• Read over 150 books in a year
• Train for a marathon or smash out four half-marathons
• Cook 10 meals from scratch and master a few new recipes
• Launch a side hustle like streaming, a podcast, or a YouTube channel
• Take up a sport and reconnect with your mates

The possibilities are endless, really. But it makes you think, doesn’t it?

Digital burnout is real

While our devices keep us connected, we’re all guilty of doom-scrolling. After you’ve had a long day of work or study, it can be nice to unwind by kicking your feet up and scrolling through your socials.

On the other end of the spectrum, too much screen time can start to seriously affect how we feel and our mental health for a number of reasons.

Signs you might be digitally overworked

• You check your phone before even getting out of bed
• You get “phantom buzzes” when no notification has come through
• You feel mentally drained without having done much
• You scroll TikTok, and suddenly, it’s dark outside

How to reclaim your digital time… without going off-grid!

Don’t worry, you don’t have to throw your phone into the nearest bin (please don’t! It’s bad for the environment). Instead, making a few smaller changes can have a big impact on how you spend your time online. Here’s how to start:

• Set daily app limits — even cutting down by 15 or 30 minutes per platform can help
• Try a “no-scroll” morning until 9am
• Use tools like Forest or Freedom to block distractions
• Leave your phone in another room during meals or meetings
• Schedule offline time the same way you’d schedule a meeting

Your time is precious. Rather than spending it working for free and digitally burning ourselves out, it’s time we made the most of it.

There’s no need for you to disconnect from the internet entirely. It’s all about being more intentional in how and when you use it.

One more way to get more out of your internet

If you’re going to spend hours online each week, it might as well be on a plan that works for you. At MATE, we’re all about keeping things simple, flexible and value-packed. That means no lock-in contracts, no change fees, and unlimited data on all our plans.

Whether you’re streaming, banking or video-calling your loved ones, we’ve got you covered. Enjoy Aussie-based support, bundle and save deals, and reliable mobile plans and nbn plans that won’t leave you hanging.

Final thoughts

If you’ve got 43 hours a week online (remember, that’s more than a full-time job you never applied for), you might as well make the most of those hours. Especially when this hidden ‘job’ doesn’t come with any benefits or pay!

With a few tweaks and adjustments, you can take back control. Spend it with the people who matter instead of doom-scrolling and filling someone else’s pockets. And when you do need to jump online, make sure your internet plan is working just as hard as you are.

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