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How kids are using screen time: Surprising stats you should know

What this study shows for children 8 years old and younger

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These days, kids are called the iPad generation for how much they stare at their screens instead of being outside and getting dirty. The people at Common Sense Census want parents to understand just how true — or not true — that is with their latest research on screen time usage. See if your kids are over or under the average screen staring time and how your family’s screen habits have changed in rate with the general public, according to this kids’ screen time study.

Kids’ screen time study

Two children looking at a tablet.
Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels

The study done by the Common Sense Census focused on children 8 years old and younger. The last study was done right before the pandemic in 2020, so it’s interesting to see how kids’ screen time has been impacted since.

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There are more ways than ever to have screen time

Between tablets, phones, laptops, and television, children have access to more electronic devices, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that children’s media usage has increased. If you are a millennial parent, you had Saturday morning cartoons and maybe TGIF when you were older. The concept of a tablet or cellphone wasn’t even a thing. With all of the additional ways children have to stare at a screen these days, an increase in watching time is inevitable. 

The study’s findings

A child sitting on a bed, on a tablet with headphones on.
RDNE Stock project / Pexels

If asked what percent of kids had a tablet by the age of 2, what would you guess? What age do you think a child has a cellphone? The kids’ screen time study asked the burning questions.

  • By 2 years old, 40% of kids have a tablet
  • By 8 years old, one in four kids have a cellphone
  • Kids’ screen time totals 2.5 hours on average
  • In four years, video gaming has risen 65%
  • TikTok and YouTube Shorts have kicked television watching down the list

Almost half of all kids have a tablet by the time they are 2 years old. That might sound insane, but look around the next time you’re at the store and see how many kids are kept quiet by looking at a screen. At 8 years old, a kid is in second grade, and a quarter of them will have a cellphone.

But the kids aren’t sitting in front of a television or laptop to watch shows. In the last four years, video game play has jumped by 65%. With options like Discord and Meta headsets allowing kids to talk to each other while they play, video gaming has a better allure than watching the latest season of a show on Netflix.

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With the attention span kids have in modern times, the ease of watching a short video on YouTube or TikTok is more popular with the younger generation. Sitting down to watch a whole episode or series of a show seems to be a parent’s game.

The time kids spend on their screens doesn’t always line up with the time experts recommend children spend on screens. But between the television, tablets, phones, and laptops, kids will find a way to get in front of a screen. Not every family can stick to a no-screen rule every day, and not every family wants to purchase electronics for all of their children, but see how your family averages compare to this kids’ screen time study.

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