Gmail consumes 16% of web browsing time, study shows

A study by the Institute for Information, Internet and Democracy at Northeastern University, analyzing the browsing habits of 4,608 consented users between June 2024 and December 2025, found that Gmail accounts for 16.38 % of total web‑browser time on desktop and laptop computers. This share exceeds the combined time spent on the next 300,000 most‑visited sites. Users over 65 years old spend more than a third of their online time in Gmail, while younger users allocate about 11.6 % of their browsing to email. YouTube and Facebook rank second and third with 10.38 % and 7.97 % respectively.

Separate research on workplace productivity notes that employees devote roughly a third of their workday—over three hours—to reading, sorting and responding to email, creating frequent interruptions. Recommended practices to mitigate this include time‑blocking for email checks, a two‑minute rule for quick replies, automated filters and templates, and regular unsubscribing from newsletters. Implementing these steps can reduce stress and improve focus on core tasks.