Three quarters of Austrians take digital devices to bed

The majority of Austrians are also hooked to their digital devices in the bedroom: 77 percent of our compatriots use smartphones, tablets or smart TVs in bed. This is shown by a survey commissioned by the VPN provider NordVPN among 1,000 respondents in several countries.

The Austrians are in good company. In Mexico, 97 percent of 18- to 64-year-olds surveyed use digital devices, in Italy the figure is 88 percent, in Canada, Australia and the USA 87 percent each, and in Germany 77 percent.

In Germany (85 percent), Austria (90 percent) and Switzerland (89 percent), the smartphone is the most popular device used in bed. In addition, 48 percent of Germans admit to watching TV in bed, while 37 percent use a computer or laptop. In Austria, 45 percent watch TV and 32 percent use their PC, while in Switzerland the figures are 38 and 33 percent.

Germany is way ahead in terms of the number of devices taken to bed, with an average of 2.6 devices being used in the bedroom. In Austria, with 2.3, and in Switzerland, with 2.2, the figure is significantly lower. Devices are most commonly used in the evening before bedtime.

Half of all users in Austria read emails or check text messages; reading or listening to news and scrolling through social media are also very popular.

Of all respondents, at least 39 percent agree or tend to agree that they read negative news in bed. Another 31 percent are not sure whether their content can be classified as doom scrolling (excessive consumption of negative news on the Internet). Overall, more than half of all respondents agree that using a smartphone in bed affects their sleep quality (56 percent).

To prevent bedtime from becoming a “digital nightmare,” NordVPN advises keeping apps and operating systems up to date, never using unknown apps or Wi-Fi systems, and being cautious of suspicious links and unknown numbers.