France’s new screen king? It’s not the TV anymore 📱

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For the first time ever, smartphones have become the most common electronic device in French homes—surpassing the once-dominant television. According to the fifth edition of the Digital Usage Reference Report, released on July 7, 2025, by Arcep and Arcom, 93% of French households now own at least one smartphone. In comparison, TVs are present in just 89% of homes. It’s a shift that reflects deeper, long-term changes in how people interact with technology.

The smartphone is now the digital daily driver 📲

Beyond their widespread presence, smartphones are also the most-used device on a daily basis. The same report shows that 80% of people aged 12 and up use a smartphone every day. That stat underlines just how essential these devices have become in everyday digital life—whether it’s browsing the web, messaging, scrolling through social media, or making app-based calls.

Meanwhile, smartphones are steadily replacing other traditional tech staples. Take computers, for instance: while still important, daily use has dipped slightly—from 58% in 2023 to 55% in 2024. That said, usage levels remain higher than pre-pandemic times, likely due to the continued impact of remote work.

Smart speakers quietly gain ground 🔊

Another interesting trend from the report: smart speakers are now used more often than landline phones. In 2025, 14% of people in France use a smart speaker daily, compared to 13% for traditional phone lines. It’s another sign of how voice assistants are becoming more embedded in everyday routines.

Smart speaker adoption overall is also growing. In just two years, the percentage of households with at least one smart speaker jumped from 27% to 33%. These devices are increasingly used to control music, manage calendars, and even operate smart home systems—perfectly in line with the demand for convenience and instant access.

Fewer screens, but more screen time 📉

Ironically, even as smartphones become more central, the total number of digital devices in homes is dropping. On average, French households had 9.6 screen-equipped devices in 2024, down from 10.3 the year before. The number of unused screens also fell—from 2.4 to 1.8 per home. It suggests a streamlining of digital habits, where one device (usually the smartphone) handles multiple tasks.

But fewer devices doesn’t mean less screen time. In fact, more people feel like they’re spending too much time in front of screens. Around 42% of French adults say they overdo it, and nearly 1 in 5 (19%) admit their screen time is “way too much.” That concern is even more pronounced among younger users: over a third of people aged 12 to 24 say they spend more than three hours a day on screens.

Social media makes screen fatigue worse 😵‍💫

Finally, the report highlights a strong link between heavy social media use and digital overload. Among those who spend more than five hours a day on screens, people who frequently check social platforms are twice as likely to say that time feels excessive. In fact, 67% of heavy social media users report screen fatigue, versus just 36% of those who don’t use these platforms much.

This gap suggests that it’s not just the amount of screen time that matters, but what we’re doing with it. And with smartphones as the main access point for social media, they’ve become both indispensable tools and common scapegoats. It’s a perfect snapshot of today’s digital dilemma: staying connected without feeling consumed.

👉🏾 Has your smartphone taken over your daily habits too? Let us know in the comments 😊