Tech Carbon Footprint: How Much Does Online Activity Contribute To Emissions?

In today’s digital age, social media and online communication have become an integral part of our daily lives. From scrolling through TikTok and Instagram to sending countless texts and emails, we’re constantly connected.

Each minute spent scrolling or sending a quick message may seem harmless, but these small actions add up to a significant carbon footprint. The tech industry accounts for 7% of global emissions and is predicted to rise with the growth of data centers.

In light of this, we’ve calculated the CO2 emissions from common online activities like using social media, texting, and emailing and how often we do these things on average. Then, we compared the daily and yearly emissions to things like long flights and car trips to show how much our everyday internet use impacts the environment.

The Environmental Impact Of “Doom Scrolling” 

The world is now flooded with social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. While many studies point to the negative effects on mental health and well-being, a lesser-known impact is how using these apps also harms the environment.

CO2 emissions are produced from the numerous data centers that it takes to operate platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Beyond personal device energy consumption, the data centers powering these platforms consume enormous amounts of electricity, often relying on non-renewable energy sources. The impact of billions of users worldwide adds up to significant carbon emissions.

Which social media platforms produce the most emissions? 

Social media has become an integral part of daily life, with millions of people connecting, sharing, and consuming content online. The average person spends around three hours per day using social media. But how much is this constant activity costing the planet? 

TikTok tops the list when it comes to CO2 emissions. Not only is it the most popular platform, with users spending an average of 95 minutes per day, but it also generates the highest carbon footprint. Just one minute of scrolling on TikTok emits 2.63 grams of CO2, which adds up to a significant 250 grams by the end of the day.

Instagram ranks as the second biggest culprit. With users spending an average of 33 minutes per day on the platform, and 1.5 grams of CO2 emitted per minute, that amounts to 50 grams of CO2 per day. 

Facebook follows closely, also used for about 33 minutes daily, but with a lower carbon footprint of 0.79 grams per minute, totaling 26 grams of CO2 each day. YouTube rounds out the list, with users averaging 19 minutes per day, leading to nine grams of CO2 emissions daily.

Combining all these social media platforms, one person contributes around 968 grams of CO2 every single day just by scrolling — about the same as driving a car 2.4 miles.

To put this even more into perspective, air travel emits around 133 grams of CO2 per mile per passenger for short-haul flights. So, doom-scrolling for one day equates, on average, to the same emissions for about seven passengers per mile on one of these flights.

How does this add up over the course of a year? 

Our calculations reveal that, on average, a single person generates a staggering 353,466 grams of CO2 each year from their use of all social media platforms.

For context, a single flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco emits about 153,000 grams of CO2 per passenger. Over a year, the carbon emissions generated by one person’s social media use equates to more, and is equivalent to a return journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Now, consider that there are roughly 5.17 billion people worldwide using social media. Collectively, their yearly carbon footprint could be compared to the emissions from millions of long-haul flights. So, the environmental impact of scrolling is much bigger than we might think.

The Environmental Impact Of Mindless Texts And Emails

Mindless texts and emails might seem insignificant in terms of emissions, but they can have a surprisingly large environmental impact. These are often short messages with little to no real purpose, yet they still contribute to the environment. Even the smallest actions, like sending a “LOL” or “OK,” contribute to the digital carbon footprint.

In the U.S. alone, the average person sends about 61 texts per day, with each message emitting 0.014 grams of CO2. While that may not sound like a lot, when multiplied by millions of users and hundreds of messages, this quickly adds up.

The total amount of CO2 emissions used by one person for text messages is 310 grams in just one year, which is the same as charging your phone 32 times or running your laptop for 10 hours.

Which age group has the biggest impact? 

Of all age groups sending text messages, it’s no surprise that Gen Z does this the most, and is therefore having the greatest environmental impact.

18-24-year-olds send an average of 124 texts a day. This means that over a year, sending texts produces 652.3 grams of CO2, meaning that the carbon emissions are the same as those produced as a 3-mile car journey – or running your laptop for just under a day.

For those aged 25-34, this number almost halves, with individuals this age producing 382.2 grams of CO2 per year, and those aged 55+ producing even less, at just 81.5 grams of CO2 by texting others.

The environmental impact of work emails

Even sending work emails comes with a carbon cost. On average, a single individual emits around 2,028 grams of CO2 annually just from sending emails. Considering that most employees send emails daily, this adds up to a surprising amount of emissions. To put it in perspective, this is equivalent to driving a gasoline-powered car for approximately five miles. 

Reducing unnecessary emails, using low-carbon energy sources, and promoting efficient communication practices can all help lower this often-overlooked environmental cost.

How Can Consumers And Businesses Reduce Their Tech Carbon Footprint?

Bill Buckley, SVP of Engineering at CloudZero, shares tips on how consumers and businesses can work to reduce their tech carbon footprint 

“Carbon emissions are one of the most significant challenges facing our environment today. Our research reveals that the careless use of technology contributes more to environmental damage than many people realize. 

“As consumers and businesses increasingly aim to reduce their carbon footprint, optimizing technology use presents a powerful opportunity for positive change. To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of actionable steps to lower your carbon emissions through smarter tech practices:”

1. Optimize cloud usage to reduce waste

“Continuously monitor your cloud resources to eliminate unnecessary or underutilized instances to improve sustainable cloud cost management. This will lower energy consumption, reduce costs, and minimize your carbon footprint.

Businesses can also use platforms like CloudZero to gain visibility into cloud spend and energy use. This will allow you to make data-driven decisions that balance cost savings with environmental sustainability.

2. Reduce everyday energy consumption 

“Simple actions, such as turning off equipment when not in use, can have a significant impact over time. Reducing energy consumption by regularly deleting unnecessary files and programs also contributes to lowering emissions.

For individuals, adopting these habits daily is key, while businesses can amplify the effect by sharing a company-wide guide on reducing emissions to encourage everyone to participate in these eco-friendly practices.”

3. Consider a sustainable website 

“A website is an essential part of any business today, but it can contribute more to carbon emissions than many realize.

“If your site is hosted on external servers, it may be consuming more energy than expected to maintain those servers. To reduce your website’s environmental impact, consider eco-friendly alternatives such as choosing hosting providers that use renewable energy and energy-efficient infrastructure.

By adopting these practices, you can make a substantial difference in reducing your tech carbon footprint and supporting a more sustainable future.”

Methodology

To find out how much online activity impacts carbon emissions, we first researched how much CO2 is produced from the following online activities and how much time is spent on each of these activities per day on average: 

We then used the following sources for context comparisons: 

Any other information was taken using AI or desk research and has been linked in the copy.

Author: Cody Slingerland

Cody Slingerland, a FinOps certified practitioner, is an avid content creator with over 10 years of experience creating content for SaaS and technology companies. Cody collaborates with internal team members and subject matter experts to create expert-written content on the CloudZero blog.