Kids’ Access to Mobile Devices is Dramatically Higher than Two Years Ago

Two years ago we put together a Prezi about how “digitally connected” our kids are. In that Prezi we included statistics from a study carried out by Common Sense Media. They recently released a second study on early childhood exposure to digital devices and it includes some alarming stats about device ownership and usage among our youngest.

The second study; Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America 2013, replicates the large-scale survey, conducted in 2011. This new study provides a comparison to how our children’s media behaviors have changed. Advocates for unplugging our kids and letting them simply play and connect face-to-face in the real world, will not be happy.

Finding 1: kids’ access to digital devices rose dramatically over the last two years

40% of families with children age 8 and under now own a tablet device, such as iPads, compared to 8% of families in 2011.75% of children now have access to a “smart” mobile device at home, a jump from 52% in 2011.

Finding 2: kids’ time on mobile devices triples

The above statistic is all well and good, if kids’ use of them did not increase. However, the access to mobile devices in the home has also led to increased use of them by young children.

Finding 3: kids don’t use as much “traditional” screen media anymore

Time spent watching TV and DVDs, playing video games or using the computer is down substantially, by more than ½ hour per day.

Finding 4: However, TV still dominates Kids’ Media Time

Nearly 6 out of 10 kids under the age of 8 watch TV once a day. Of the roughly two hours of average screen time per day, half is spent watching TV.

Finding 5: Television continues to be the most-widely platform for children’s educational content.

61% of kids under 8 often or sometimes watch educational TV shows, compared to 38% who use educational content on mobile devices as frequently. Educational content on mobile devices reach higher- rather than lower-income children. 54% of children from higher-income households often or sometimes use educational content on mobile devices, but only 28% of kids from lower-income household.

The full report can be found at: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/zero-to-eight-2013.pdf