In May and June, 942 children and young people between the ages of 6 and 18 took part in the Bitkom Research survey online; the children between the ages of 6 and 10 were accompanied by their parents.
The older you are, the longer you spend on your smartphone
For younger people, the path into the digital world often begins with a tablet computer that is used together with their parents. But even in the age group between 10 and 12, the smartphone is the preferred digital device at 88 percent. Among young people (16 to 18 years), smartphone use is at 98 percent, followed by laptops or PCs (87 percent) and tablets (86 percent). More than a third also use a smartwatch (36 percent).
The duration of smartphone use increases significantly with age. Children aged 6 to 9 use their smartphones for an average of 37 minutes per day. For 10 to 12 year olds, the usage time increases to 107 minutes per day. Young people aged 13 to 15 spend around two and a half hours (154 minutes) per day on their smartphones. Users aged 16 to 18 say they spend more than three hours (201 minutes) per day on their smartphones.
Favorit YouTube
In addition to communicating with text and voice messages or making phone calls, listening to music, radio plays and podcasts, taking photos and videos, and playing games are among the most popular smartphone applications. 93 percent of children and young people aged 10 and over also use social networks. YouTube (87 percent) US02079K1079 is in the lead by a large margin, ahead of Instagram US30303M1027 and Snapchat (each 53 percent) US83304A1060 and TikTok (51 percent). Facebook (9 percent) and X/Twitter are lagging behind with 8 percent. A third (33 percent) say they cannot imagine life without social media.
Even negative experiences
Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst said that children must be given early guidance and accompanied on their journey into the digital world. “They must learn to move safely and independently in the digital world. This includes agreements, especially at a young age, about what the smartphone can be used for and to what extent.”
It is also important to deal with negative online experiences correctly. Wintergerst pointed out that 16 percent of children and young people aged 10 and over who use the Internet have already been insulted or bullied online. Over 12 percent have been told lies online. Eight percent said in the Bitkom survey that they had been threatened online, and 7 percent each had been sexually harassed online by peers or adults. “In order to better protect children and young people online, we need not only education, but also more technical and human resources for the police and investigative authorities,” said Wintergerst./chd/DP/men
