Zero to Eight: Children's Media Use in America 2013

"...[T]he media children use can have a profound impact - both positive and negative - on learning, social development, and behavior. The only way to maximize the positive impact of media on children is to have an accurate understanding of the role it plays in their lives: which platforms they are using, the activities or content they are engaging on those platforms, and how their media use patterns vary by age, gender, or socioeconomic status."

Prepared by Victoria Rideout of VJR Consulting, this report is based on the results of a large-scale, nationally representative survey, the second in Common Sense's series on children's media use in the United States (US); the first was conducted in 2011. Common Sense documents how children's media environments and behaviours have changed based on a survey of parents of children ages 0 to 8, covering media ranging from books/reading and music to mobile interactive media like smartphones and tablets. "It is the purpose of this report to provide these data to all of those who are working to improve the quality of children's media, protect children from harmful content, and increase the supply of educational and pro-social content."

A survey of 1,463 parents of children age 8 and under, including an over-sample of African-American and Latino parents, was conducted from May 20 - June 12 2013, using a probability-based online panel (called the KnowledgePanel). The survey was offered in both English and Spanish. Parents were asked about a particular, randomly selected child in their household. Key findings include:

• The average amount of time children spend using mobile devices has tripled, from 5 minutes a day to 15 minutes a day (the average daily use among all 0- to 8-year-olds).
• There has been a 5-fold increase in ownership of tablet devices such as iPads, from 8% of all families in 2011 to 40% in 2013. The percent of children with access to some type of "smart" mobile device at home (e.g., smartphone, tablet) jumped from 52% to 75% of children in the 2-year period.
• Almost twice as many children have used mobile media compared to 2011 (72%, compared to 38% previously). Among very young children, the increase was even greater. For instance, 38% of children under the age of 2 have used a mobile device for media (compared to 10% in 2011).
• Time spent with "traditional" screen media, such as television, DVDs, video games, and computers, is down by more than half an hour a day.
• Television still dominates children's media time, but new ways of watching (e.g., watching pre-recorded material) now make up a large portion of viewing.
• Access to mobile media devices and applications among economically poor and minority children is much higher than it was in 2011, but a large gap between rich and poor still persists. For example, although 20% of lower-income children now have a tablet device at home, 63% of higher-income children do; while 35% of lower-income parents have downloaded educational apps for their child, 75% of higher-income parents have done so.
• Television continues to be the most widely used platform for children's educational content. "Much of the gap in use of educational content on computers and mobile platforms is due to lack of access to these technologies among lower-income families. Among children whose families own a computer, the gap in use of educational content disappears."

Amongst the other findings in the report: "One of the concerns about the increasing presence of media in children’s homes is the degree to which media may detract from face-to-face family time. On the other hand, many families may enjoy using media together, and in those cases media may lead families to spend more time together, not less. As it turns out, most parents (58%) say media don't have either effect, neither increasing nor decreasing the amount of time spent together as a family. But a quarter (28%) say media contribute to them spending less time together and 12% say they spend more time together as a family because of the media they use."

Click here in order to download the 40-page report in PDF format. Citation: Common Sense Media (2013). Zero to Eight: Children's Media Use in America 2013. San Francisco: Common Sense Media.

Click here to access an infographic featuring study highlights.