How common is this?
Common Sense Media has released a new report that looks at the 2024 media use of children ages 0 to 8, pointing to some of the challenges faced by those educating this generation.
Some of the findings may come as a surprise.
By age 2, 40% of children have their own tablet. By age 4, that percentage is 58%.
By age 8, one in four children have their own tablet.
The 2- t0 4-year-old group uses screens for about two hours a day; the older children average about three and a half hours. Boys spend about a half an hour more than girls. The main use of screen time is for TV viewing, followed by gaming. Reading takes up 4% of the time, with homework accounting for just 1%.
Television/video viewing includes about one third streaming services (for example, Netflix or Disney+) and one third longer videos on apps like YouTube. Short videos rose to 16% of viewing time in 2024. Only 6% of the viewing involved live TV.
While screen time is about the same as the amount Common Sense found in their 2020 survey, the amount of TV time is down, and video gaming is up.
The level of dependence described by the survey may be a sign of trouble to come. The survey finds that one in five children use mobile devices for emotional regulation, mealtimes, or to fall asleep. At the same time 75% or more of parents surveyed worried about children spending too much time on screens, the impact on attention spans, the amount of sexual and violent content, and the impact on mental health.
While authorities such as the American Psychological Association have found that sorting out the benefits and risks of digital device use by children is complicated, many parents and schools have been moved by alarms raised by works like Jonathan Haidt’s book, “The Anxious Generation,” and research that suggests a link between screen use and mental health issues. 2024 saw a wave of cell phone bans sweep schools across the country in response to concerns about children and digital media.
At the same time, a large percentage parents also told the survey that they found positive educational benefits of screen time, including learning new things, seeing different cultures, exploring new interests, and connecting with friends and family. Anyone with grandchildren living hundreds of miles away understands the power of digital media.
One third of parents reported use of artificial intelligence for learning, though it’s unclear how those parents are defining AI, a term with broad use in the world of children’s media. One in four report their child using AI to create short stories or art; that as much as any data in the survey may have implications for teachers of this generation. How does a teacher teach writing to a student who has grown up using ChatGPT as a writing tool? Should we expect additional items on the school readiness checklist?
The majority of parents said that the use of AI for school work has no impact on their child’s understanding of school material. The survey does not address the use of screens in schools, which has mushroomed in post-pandemic schools. A 2022 survey by Education Week found that 90% of school leaders surveyed provided one school-issued digital learning device to every middle and high school student, and 84% were doing so for elementary students.
Common Sense has conducted this survey several times starting in 2011, and the data shows some clear trends. In 2017, children ages 0 to 8 spent about a half hour watching live TV; in 2024, it was five minutes.
Parents spend, on average, about a half hour a day reading to children from print books. White parents are more likely to read to their children. Higher-income households are more likely to read daily than low-income. More educated parents are more likely to read to their children daily than low-income parents.
Common Sense Media was founded in 2003 as a nonprofit with an aim of reviewing and rating media and technology on its suitability for children. It produces a variety of surveys looking at the media habits of teens and children, and partners with numerous media companies and research organizations.
Another recent Common Sense Media survey shows that teens are heavy users of tech platforms, they have a great distrust of the companies behind them. It will take years to see if the newest generation of digital natives develop a different relationship with their screens and the companies behind them, but it appears that much of the work has already begun.