THE marked increase in children on digital platforms has parents navigating a tightrope between monitoring screen activity and providing some measure of privacy.
Monitoring devices
39% of parents said they ‘always’ monitored children’s devices, while 35.3% said ‘very often’.
Gender bias
59% of parents agreed there is gender bias when disciplining boys and girls, although 74.1% still said they were equally strict with both genders of children.
Age for tech use
79% of the parents surveyed said their kids use smartphones, with the average age of children using these phones being around 10 years. Children 9 and below used tablets more, with the average of children using technology around five years of age. 84.9% of parents with young children monitor their devices.
Screen time
Despite scientific warnings about too much screen time, 58.9% of parents felt their children had the right amount of screen time, and another 2.5% said their children didn’t use technology enough. Many parents use WiFi as a means to discipline children, revoking use for punishment.
Checking communication
Most parents — 60.9% — admitted to reading their children’s text messages, and around 45.5% were disappointed with what they found.
Navigating the net
Eight in 10 parents surveyed monitored their children’s internet use in some way, although 66.8% also said they trusted their children to use it responsibly.
More than one in three parents were concerned about age-inappropriate content, while another 10% were concerned by the prevalence of social media influencers, with only 11% believing influencers had a positive impact on children.
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