Overview
- The Postbank Digitalstudie, released Thursday, June 4, found average weekly internet use in Germany dropped to 67.4 hours, roughly five hours less than in 2025.
- The decline is led by people under 40 who still use the web most but reduced pure smartphone time to about 31 hours per week and many plan further cuts.
- The smartphone remains the main access device for 86 percent of people, yet mobile weekly hours fell from 25.7 to 23.9 and regular use of social media, YouTube and messengers declined.
- About 38 percent of respondents already use AI tools such as ChatGPT for information searches and 56 percent of those who expect to increase internet use name AI as the reason, creating a clear potential to reverse the drop.
- The study interviewed 3,050 people in April and May 2026 and weighted results to the 2022 microcensus, framing the fall as a measurable reversal after a decade-long rise and linking public health and product implications for platforms, advertisers and workplaces.