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Old phones by the numbers
Screen time, drawers, e-waste and the 2G and 3G clock. Every figure comes with its source and its date — and a line on what it doesn’t say.
Attention
of US adults say they spend too much time on their smartphone
33% say it’s about the right amount and 3% too little. Age makes a big difference: 70% of adults under 30 say “too much”, compared with 25% of those aged 65 and over.
What it doesn’t say: this is how people feel about their own use, not a measurement of hours.
Pew Research Center — survey of 9,750 US adults, 26 May–1 June 2026, published 1 September 2026.
tried to cut back on their smartphone use in the past 12 months
Of those who tried, a quarter say they were extremely or very successful, 52% somewhat successful and 23% not too or not at all successful.
What it doesn’t say: how they cut back, or for how long it lasted.
Pew Research Center, September 2026.
online a day for the average UK adult, outside work
That’s 10 minutes more than the year before. Adults aged 18–24 spend about 6h20 a day and those aged 65 and over about 3h20. Smartphones account for around three-quarters of the time (75% for men, 79% for women).
What it doesn’t say: whether that time is good or bad — it includes messages, maps and banking as well as feeds.
Ofcom, Online Nation 2025, December 2025.
without mobile internet improved attention in one experiment
People who blocked mobile internet on their smartphones for two weeks — keeping calls and texts — reported better sustained attention, mental health and subjective well-being.
What it doesn’t say: only about a quarter followed the block fully, the experiment lasted two weeks, and it studied smartphone users — not classic phones, and not KeyAgain. It’s one study, not a promise.
Castelo et al., PNAS Nexus, February 2025.
The drawer
mobile phones were expected to drop out of use in 2022
That’s out of an estimated 16 billion phones worldwide. Experts expected most of them to end up in drawers, cupboards and garages — or in the bin — rather than being reused or recycled.
What it doesn’t say: how many still work. It’s an estimate for one year.
WEEE Forum, 13 October 2022.
unused devices in the average European home: 9 that work, 4 that don’t
The average household had 74 electrical and electronic products. The most common reason for keeping small ones? “I might use it again” (46% of households).
What it doesn’t say: how many of those devices are phones. The survey covered Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and the UK.
WEEE Forum surveys of 8,775 households, June–September 2022 (results compiled by UNITAR).
E-waste
of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2022 — and 22.3% was documented as properly recycled
That’s about 7.8 kg per person, up 82% since 2010. On current trends it reaches 82 million tonnes by 2030, while the documented recycling rate falls to around 20%.
What it doesn’t say: how much of it is phones — the total covers everything with a plug or a battery.
Global E-waste Monitor 2024 (UNITAR and ITU), March 2024.
A new phone’s footprint
of a new smartphone’s first-year footprint comes from making and shipping it
Deloitte estimated about 85 kg of CO₂e for a new smartphone’s first year, almost all of it from manufacturing, raw materials and shipping. Using it adds about 8 kg over a typical two-to-five-year life. Deloitte’s conclusion: the biggest single lever is keeping phones in use for longer.
What it doesn’t say: it’s a 2022 estimate about smartphones. Reusing an old phone doesn’t make it impact-free; it just avoids making a new one for that job.
Classic phones today
feature phones were sold worldwide in a year — about 15% of all handsets
Europe accounted for about 12 million, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe; North America for about 1.7 million.
What it doesn’t say: that there’s a “dumbphone boom”. The market is large but slowly shrinking. The point is reuse: many of the phones people need are already made.
Counterpoint Research, 30 September 2025 (figures for the previous year).
Networks
3G subscriptions were still active worldwide in 2025
Down from 550 million a year earlier, and forecast to fall to about 200 million by 2031 as operators reuse the airwaves for 4G and 5G.
What it doesn’t say: where they are. Most remaining 3G is outside Europe and North America — in our countries, France is the main place 3G still runs (until 2028–2029).
Ericsson Mobility Report, key figures, 2025.
mobile operators worldwide had finished switching 3G off
Out of 174 operators in 67 markets with a 3G switch-off completed, planned or under way. Europe accounts for 43% of all 2G and 3G switch-off activity, more than any other region.
What it doesn’t say: that 2G goes first. In much of Europe and North America it’s the opposite: 3G closed first, and 2G is kept for machines and older phones.
GSA, 2G and 3G Switch-Off, August 2026 (data to June 2026).
major 2G or 3G networks left in the United States
3G closed in 2022 and T-Mobile shut down the last 2G network on 3 August 2026. In the UK, 2G is expected to run until at least 2029, with all operators committed to finishing by 2033. Germany switches off in 2028; France by the end of 2026.
What it doesn’t say: that every classic phone is dead in the US — some models have Wi-Fi.
Sources and every country: our 2G switch-off guide, last checked 12 October 2026.