In a lot of ways, South Dakota and Alaska have a lot in common.

Both are sparsely populated, have limited entertainment options, and have harsh winter weather that forces residents to spend an inordinate amount of time indoors.

You would think that those similar characteristics would put the Mount Rushmore State and the Last Frontier in pretty close proximity on the list of states that spend the most time in front of their computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Surprisingly they are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey, which measures several things, including time spent in front of screens, South Dakota is one of the places where people spend the least amount of time engaged with technology.

Screen Time by State
PCMag.com
loading...

A deeper examination of the 2013 to 2017 numbers by VerizonSpecials.com shows that folks in the Mount Rushmore State spend less than an hour per day (54 minutes) on their screens, making South Dakota one of just three states with average online times of less than an hour.

The national average is 1 hour and 30 minutes.

STATES WITH LEAST AMOUNT OF COMPUTER USAGE PER DAY (in hours)

  1. Delaware - 0:43
  2. South Dakota - 0:54
  3. Vermont - 0:56
  4. North Dakota - 1:07
  5. Idaho - 1:10

Alaskans, on the other hand, can't seem to put their devices down. Usage there comes close to three hours per day, a full 37 minutes more than the next closest state.

STATES WITH MOST AMOUNT OF COMPUTER USAGE PER DAY (in hours)

  1. Alaska - 2:46
  2. Arkansas - 2:09
  3. Mississipi - 2:07
  4. Iowa - 1:52
  5. Florida - 1:51

More From KYBB-FM / B102.7