As children become increasingly active online, it’s important to give them the tools they need to balance screen time.
Help 7-11-year-olds strike a healthy balance between the time they spend online and offline, especially as they start to get their own devices.
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GET YOUR TOOLKITAt this age, children are more likely to have their own mobile phones and devices. This means that access to different online spaces increases. Compared to under-5s (41%) and 5-7s (38%), children nearing the end of primary school are more likely to use mobile phones to go online (66%). Additionally, more than half of 8-11-year-olds, according to Ofcom, have their own mobile phone (compared to 20% for each younger age group).
Children in upper primary spend most of their time watching videos online with a significant number also using social media. Despite age requirements of 13, many children at this age also have their own social media profiles.
According to our tracker survey, the majority of 6-10-year-olds spend 1-2 hours on devices per weekday. This increases to 3-4 hours at the weekend.
In our tracker survey, 64% of parents said that their 6-10-year-old played single-player games. This was the most popular activity on devices, according to parents.
According to Ofcom, 96% of 8-10-year-olds say they watched videos online, the most common activity at this age.
According to Ofcom, 82% of children aged 8-10 send messages or make voice/video calls. Despite a 16+ age requirement, 54% of these kids use WhatsApp to do this.
71% of parents of 6-10-year-olds in our tracker survey say they feel concerned about their child spending too much time online or on connected devices.
Our tracker survey asked children which sites, platforms, apps or games they use. The top 5 most popular of these among 9- and 10-year-olds are below.
With the exception of WhatsApp, which is intended for those aged 16+, each of the above platforms have parental controls. You can set content limits, restrict who can contact your child and manage screen time with these controls.
According to Ofcom, only 22% of parents sit with their child as they use their device. Instead, roughly 7 in 10 parents ask their child about their online activity and regularly check what they are doing.
The majority of parents of 8-10-year-olds (68%) say they believe their child has a good screen time balance.
The following are potential signs of poor screen time balance in 7-11-year-olds.
Remember that changes in children’s behaviour can mean different things and might not be related to screen time. If you have concerns, speak with your GP. For additional support to help children balance screen time, explore this screen time guide.
Here are 5 ways to help children manage their screen use and time online.
Get engaged and stay engaged in their digital life as they grow. The more you get involved and understand the things your children do online, the easier it is to gain their respect and influence what they do in their digital world.
Also, making screens part of family time, like a movie or an online games night is one way to make it more inclusive and engaging.
As children become more active online, have regular conversations with them about ways to deal with a range of risks that they may be exposed to such as seeing inappropriate content or being cyberbullied.
Make sure they know when and where to seek help if they need it and what tools they can use to deal with it. If you need help starting a conversation about inappropriate content, see our guide.
Whatever device your child uses, be sure to make use of free and premium tools available to manage their access to age-appropriate content and review the time they spend on specific online activities.
Help them avoid mindless scrolling and teach them to be more critical about the media they watch and the platforms they use. Encourage them to explore apps and websites that will compliment what they enjoy in the real world and develop their key skills.
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