23% of 9-year-olds have online profile
ALMOST a quarter of nineyear-olds have an online profile, while 9% spend more than two hours a day glued to their smartphones and iPads.
The latest findings from the ESRI reveal that 23% of nine-year-olds had an online profile – 26% of boys and 21% of girls.
Boys’ profiles largely related to computer gaming while girls’ more often related to social media.
The study which analysed screen time found that over 90% of nineyear-olds spend at least some time watching television or DVDs on both weekdays and weekends.
According to the study, 15% of them spend two or more hours watching TV/DVDs on a weekday.
However, 9% spent more than two hours a day on other types of screen-based activities such as iPads or computers on a weekday.
Most mothers reported having rules to manage their nine-yearolds’ screen time, including rules about content (71%), the total time spent on devices (69%) and the time of day the child used the device (53%). Equally, 59% of mothers reported engaging the child in alternative activities to reduce screen time.
News that parents are being forced to limit their children’s screentime comes as no surprise with schools now also seeking to protect children online.
Children under 14 in a Co. Clare primary school are now not allowed own a smartphone and will be bound by strict rules at home after an agreement with parents and pupils was reached recently.
Under the innovative arrangement, Clarecastle National School drew up a ‘Family Media Use Plan’ outlining when and where children use the internet at home.
As part of the plan, parents agreed to keep their children’s bedrooms ‘screen-free’ to ensure they get enough sleep, set a nightly ‘device curfew’ and stop all use at least an hour before bedtime.
Under the ‘Internet and Technology Use Agreement’, drawn up with the help of forensic psychologist Dr Maureen Griffin, filtering and safe search restrictions will be in place to protect the vulnerable children from bullying and sexual grooming online.
The pact, signed by over 200 families at the school so far, says families should have designated screenfree times together. Examples include meal time and when visitors arrive. Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, has repeatedly warned of the dangers of smartphones.
Research by Professor Twenge earlier this year suggested the child suicide rate has soared since the smartphone was first introduced in 2007.
The greatest increase was among young girls, – believed to be most vulnerable to the pressures of social media.
Children with smartphones are likely to sleep far less than their peers without – leading to a variety of heath problems as well as inability to focus in school.