(ETX Daily Up) – Researchers call them “iPad kids.” Born with a tablet in their hands, 7-9 year olds are on social media, despite restrictions. Against all expectations, 31% of pre-teens use the X platform, formerly Twitter, while only 26% play Minecraft.
75% of children americans have access to a tablet, and almost half, 44%, even own one, according to a report by Common SenseThis device allows young people to find each other on social networks, even at an age when it is normally forbidden, that is to say under 13 years old.
Even though it is not part of their main activities, 31% of 7-9 year olds regularly use Twitter, renamed Xsince Elon Musk’s acquisition, according to the report by Qustodio*. The controversial social network comes out on top ahead of Reddit (28%), Minecraft (26%) and Facebook (26%).
Although the social network TikTok is not mentioned, X’s popularity among younger people remains surprising, however. given the highly political content of Elon Musk’s social network. For researchers, the integration of tweets into Google searches has helped attract more audiences to the platform, reports TechCrunch. When searching in the search engine, the most curious find themselves redirected more easily to X, which can also sometimes prove dangerous.
According to the report, inappropriate content makes up 13% of what’s on the social network: “The theory is that kids ages 7-9 are accessing apps like X and Reddit because parents aren’t aware of them or don’t think to block them because they’re not as ‘popular,’ even though both platforms can expose kids to explicit content like hate speech, porn and misinformation,” Yasmin London, global online safety expert for Qoria, Qustodio’s parent company, said in a statement.
However, 7-9 year olds do not spend a huge amount of time on X, spending an average of only 9 minutes per day, compared to 36 minutes on Disney+, 20 minutes on Facebook and up to 49 minutes on Minecraft. Far ahead is Roblox, the platform for video games online, is essential for 55% of “iPad Kids” who spend an average of 137 minutes there per day. For its part, YouTube concerns 53% of the youngest, who spend 103 minutes there daily, and Netflix 39%, who devote 59 minutes of their time there each day.
* This report is based on anonymous usage of apps and online tools provided by approximately 180,000 families with children ages 7 to 18 in the United States. It reveals their app habits and AI usage across mobile and desktop devices from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, ranking apps by popularity (percentage of users) and time spent (average minutes per day).
