September 2016
Featured in this insight: IT & telecommunications, Children & young people
Parents wish they had not given their children a smart device, survey finds: In a recent survey by the insurance firm, Row, it has been revealed that one in six parents regret giving their child a tablet or smartphone because of the negative effects.
A report has shown that tablets and smart phones make children less physically active, less sociable and are responsible for daily tantrums.
Of the parents in Row’s survey, one in three feel that they children are on their device too much and as a result, have reduced attention spans and a negatively affected quality of sleep.
However, it was recognised that irrespective of the issues caused by children using tablets and smartphones, approximately 50 per cent of the parents in the survey believed that the technologies enhanced their offspring’s creativity. Further to this, more than one third believed that having a smart device made their children happier.
Ofcom’s statistics from November 2015 revealed that more than 50 per cent of all children aged 3 to 4 own a tablet, with that figure increasing to 75 per cent by the time they reach the age of 15.
The survey findings also revealed that kids spend four and a half hours per week on their tablets, with almost 1 in 3 parents deeming this too long.
The parents in the survey were found to recognise the need to reduce their child’s time spent on-screen; however, they claimed that trying to enforce this is not simple, with many parents having to deal with anger and arguments.
An organisation which works to help keep children safe online, Internet Matters, has recently called for parents to be aware of what their children are doing online, on their phones and tablets and to learn how to mitigate the risks of internet use.
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