Children’s online habits revealed in survey

The report, which has been carried out annually for the past 27 years, looks at the media consumption and purchasing behaviour of a sample of 1,976 children aged between five- to 16 years, across the UK.

It is based on research carried out between September and November last year, before the second lockdown,

It found that nine in ten children regularly viewed YouTube, with almost half using it every day, and a fifth said it was their favourite website.

Children said they spend around three hours a day viewing content, mainly accessing it on their tablets, mobile phones or smart TVs.

Other favourite websites and apps include TikTok, with half of children using this, and online game Roblox, with three in five playing it in the week that they were surveyed.

Three in ten children use Facetime or Zoom to catch up with friends and family during the lockdown.

Simon Leggett, research director at Childwise, said, ‘Our research looks at what children have been doing under lockdown and how it’s affecting their lives - including how gaming and social media is helping them cope and how many hours they really spend online.

‘Two in five children this age have their own mobile phone, which they claim to spend around three hours a day using for activities other than calling or texting.

Three quarters of children this age have their own computer at home - for two in three this is a tablet device, which one in five say they couldn’t live without.’

When it comes to their mobile phones, this age group main use them for playing games, but around half make calls or use them to go online.

‘One in four girls said they could not live without their mobile phone,’ said Mr Leggett. ‘And three in 10 boys say they couldn’t live without their games console.’

When it came to answering questions about other social and behavioural habits, children said that they read for around an hour a day, on average, with two in three reading books for pleasure, and three in ten reading books ‘every day’.

More than four in five children regard themselves as healthy, with two in five who say they are ‘very healthy’.

Fewer than one in ten say they don’t feel healthy.

Four in five say that they are happy, including more than half who say they are very happy. However, one in eight say that they ‘often’ don’t feel happy.

Mr Leggett said, ‘Social media and online games have helped children deal with a tough year, keep in touch with family and maintain their friendships from afar. Two in three say their friendships have remained strong throughout lockdown, and the same proportion say they have benefitted from spending more quality time with their family.’

He added, ‘Half say that they enjoyed spending more time with their family in lockdown, or went out and clapped for the NHS. More than two in five spent more time outdoors, or began video chatting with friends and family.’

For more information on the Childwise Monitor Report 2021 visit www.childwise.co.uk