Screen time and social media usage among both teens and tweens has soared since the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020, a new study shows.
The nonprofit organization Common Sense Media found a 17% increase in screen time in all kids aged 8-18 since 2019. That’s much faster growth than was seen between 2015 and 2019. Average screen time went up by more than an hour a day for teens (ages 13-18), from 7 hours, 22 minutes to 8 hours, 33 minutes.
In tweens (ages 8-12), the increase was nearly the same, from 4 hours, 44 minutes per day to 5 hours, 33 minutes.
The steep rise has been attributed to lockdowns and school closures amid the pandemic, with parents working from home and looking for ways to occupy their children. But particularly concerning in the survey was the underage usage of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, apps that are supposed to be limited to ages 13 and above. Nearly 1 in 5 tweens say they use social media “every day.”
As far as sites that kids consider essential, YouTube is the winner by a large margin.
“If forced to choose, teens say YouTube is the site that they wouldn’t want to live without,” the study writes. “In fact, watching online videos is the favorite media activity among 8- to 18-year-olds, appealing to both tweens and teens, boys and girls, and across racial/ethnic groups and income levels.”
Snapchat came in second with 20% of the vote, compared to YouTube’s 32%. TikTok and Instagram tied for third with 13% each.
The results aren’t surprising when combined with both teens’ and tweens’ apparent love of watching videos online as a main source of entertainment.
When asked which activity they do “every day,” 77% of teens listed watching online videos, with 62% saying social media was a daily activity. Only 49% said they watch television every day.
Television was more prevalent among tweens, leading the poll with 65%, but online videos trailed directly behind at 64%. Mobile games rounded out the top three with 43%
And when it came to activities respondents said they enjoyed “a lot,” online videos was the leader by far with both age groups – 62% of teens with video games in second place at 39%; 61% of tweens with television in second place at 48%.
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