How common is problematic internet use in Switzerland, who is most affected, and why are such figures hard to compare?

About 6.8% of people aged 15 and over (around 500,000) showed problematic internet use in 2022, up about 80% since 2017. Young people are most affected: 22.2% of 15 to 24-year-olds and 11.7% of 25 to 34-year-olds. Women and men are about equally affected.

* Prevalence is highest among the young and has risen sharply since 2017 *

The figures come from the nationally representative Swiss Health Survey (Schweizerische Gesundheitsbefragung) 2022, run every five years by the Federal Statistical Office. In 2017 the share was 3.8%.

Comparisons across countries, over time or between groups are difficult because:

• there is no consensus on criteria or on a definition of problematic screen use;
• results depend on the measurement instrument, on the cut-off chosen between excessive and addictive use, and on the group surveyed;
• repeated surveys are rare, partly because the phenomenon is new.

Part of the rise may also reflect greater public awareness, which makes people rate themselves more critically, and the COVID-19 pandemic may have boosted the trend.

Go deeper:

• BFS: Swiss Health Survey (SGB) — the survey behind the figures (German).
• BAG: Synthesis report of the expert group "Onlinesucht" 2021-2024 — interprets the 2022 figures (German PDF).