Aura’s 2026 State of the Youth Report: The Digital Wellbeing Index
How children use their phones may matter more than how long they use them. Kids with lower digital wellbeing pick up their phones seven times more often than their peers with higher digital wellbeing. They also:
- Send nearly 5 times more messages
- Switch between apps 3 times more often
- Spend about half as long on their devices per session
- Spend 3 times more time on their devices at night
This data is based off of Aura’s Digital Wellbeing Index, a 0–100 score examining 17 dimensions of smartphone behavior. The Index measures patterns such as nighttime use, messaging intensity, app switching, and frequency of device pickups. These are all behaviors that, over time, correlate with stress, sleep disruption, and self-regulation challenges.
This report looks at those differences through everyday smartphone habits and their relationship to digital wellbeing. The Digital Wellbeing Index turns daily phone activity into an early warning system, showing you patterns tied to stress and sleep loss before they compound.
Methodology
This report is based on three data sources from the Aura platform.
- Anonymized device-level data. Aura examined proprietary, anonymized telemetry from children and adolescents ages 8–17. The data were grouped by developmental stage to assess app adoption, usage intensity, and behavioral patterns over time.
- Digital Wellbeing Index (DWI). The Digital Wellbeing Index is a 0–100 composite score derived from 17 dimensions of digital behavior, including sleep health, self-regulation, and engagement patterns. The Index builds on findings from Aura’s Techwise study.
- Digital stress measurement. Digital stress was measured using the Digital Stress Scale (Hall et al., 2021). Aura integrated these stress measures with behavioral data to study how stress levels relate to digital wellbeing markers.
Survey methodology
Aura commissioned Talker Research to conduct a national online survey of 2,000 U.S. children ages 11–17 with internet access. The survey was fielded between February 3 and February 9, 2026.
The full questionnaire and methodology are available through Talker Research as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative.
Kids with lower digital wellbeing aren’t just online more
Children with low digital wellbeing scores pick up their phones seven times more often than peers who score higher on the Index. They also switch between apps three times as often and spend nearly three times more time on their devices at night. Individual sessions tend to be shorter, with more frequent returns throughout the day.
In this dataset, frequent pickups and nighttime spillover are stronger markers of lower wellbeing than total screen time.
Digital wellbeing scores drop with age
More than 60% of 16–17-year-olds fall into the low digital wellbeing category. Among children ages 8–15, fewer than 40% fall into that range. The chasm widens in the later teen years, when independent phone use becomes more typical and daily device time goes up.
When sleep slips, so does digital wellbeing
In the Digital Wellbeing Index, patterns tied to sleep consistently predict overall scores more strongly than other dimensions.
The Index incorporates measures of digital stress, based on the Digital Stress Scale developed by Hall et al. (2021), which assesses the pressure to respond quickly, keep up socially, and remain constantly available online. Aura has a version of this assessment available to families through its Digital Stress Test for parents and children.
In this dataset, children who use their devices frequently at night take more than twice as long to disengage after bedtime. Those with higher digital stress tend to have lower overall wellbeing. Children with lower digital stress score roughly 36% higher on the Index than those with higher stress levels.
Kids feel the pressure — and early habits matter
When their social lives feel tense, 55% of surveyed kids say they use their phones more based on an Aura commissioned Talker Research survey. At the same time, many are trying to regulate themselves: 63% of kids surveyed report they intentionally step away from group chats, social media, or the news to reduce stress.
That pressure to stay connected is real. 44% of kids say they feel peer pressure to be online more, higher than the pressure they report to smoke or vape (31%), ditch class (28%), or drink (24%).
Dr. Scott Kollins, Chief Medical Officer at Aura and research lead, says the timing matters. As children grow older, digital risks increase while self-regulation often takes a hit. By the mid-teen years, these patterns are harder to change.
Where did this data come from?
Aura began publishing the State of the Youth report as an annual study of how children are growing up online. In 2024, the focus was device habits and parental awareness. Last year, the report took a closer look at what children were actually saying and doing inside AI chats.
Starting in 2026, State of the Youth will explore how quickly children’s digital lives evolve during the school year.
For the complete findings, download the full report: Aura’s State of the Youth 2026: The Digital Wellbeing Index (PDF) →
Related Resources
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Kids and AI: Aura Finds Kids Turning to AI in Disturbing Ways
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