Early Childhood News in Brief

Young Children’s Use of Mobile Tech Triples in Short Span, Survey Finds

By Sarah Schwartz — October 24, 2017 1 min read
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Young children are spending more time using mobile devices like a smartphone or tablet than ever before, according to a new survey from Common Sense Media.

The amount of time that children in the study, ages 8 and younger, spent engaging with screen media on mobile devices has tripled since 2013, from 15 minutes to 48 minutes a day.

Still, there hasn’t been a net increase in overall media use. Children averaged 2 hours and 19 minutes of total screen time a day, almost the same as in 2011. Instead of watching DVDs, sitting in front of the television set, or playing video games on a console, however, children are increasingly watching digital video clips or playing app-based games on mobile devices.

A version of this article appeared in the October 25, 2017 edition of Education Week as Young Children’s Use of Mobile Tech Triples in Short Span, Survey Finds

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