What if the trend starts to reverse? While many parents blame their children for using screens and smartphones, the latter may have the same opinion of their parents according to a recent study.
It is not uncommon to hear adults complain that the new generation spends too much time on social networks, and more generally on their smartphones. However, children also have an opinion about their parents' frequent use of smartphones. Indeed, in its 2024 edition, the Born Social study returns to the use of social networks among people under the age of 13 and the behavior of the younger generation born with these new technologies. In addition to the increasing use of WhatsApp messaging and the crowning of YouTube, being the app on which participants spend the most time, the study also reveals a sad note: almost a third of children say that their parents spend too much time on their smartphones.
Do parents sit on screens a lot?
The Born Social study also highlights children's views on smartphone use by their parents, who clearly spend a lot of time with their eyes glued to their screens. A total of 28% of children questioned in the study say that their parents are too busy with their mobile phones. This is a statistic that has increased significantly compared to last year (+7 percentage points compared to 2023).
Another study, this time also conducted by Ipsos and cited by the Observatory for Parenting and Digital Education (OPEN), supports this observation. Here, 1200 parents of children aged 7 to 17 years and 600 children aged 7 to 17 years formed the sample for this study. Which reveals that families are now highly equipped and have an average of 6.4 pieces of equipment, most of which are smartphones. Returning to screen time, parents seem to be self-critical and very objective with themselves, as 71% of them believe that they spend too much time in front of screens. A statistical decrease compared to 2021 (77%, a number that can certainly be explained by the pandemic years). It is clear that nearly ¾ of parents agree with children who indicate that their parents are in front of screens too much. However, if the OPEN study reveals that 74% of parents find that their children spend too much time on screens, down 5 points compared to 2021, only 59% of them confirm this.
When asked about rules and practices in place to control and regulate their children's screen use, 58% of parents said they prohibit screen use during meals, and 49% impose a limit on daily screen time. Rules that can also be imposed on parents, in order to share more family time.
sources: Parenting and Digital Education Observatory, Social boy
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