Better Internet for Kids

This applies to around a tenth of parents for children under the age of 5, a fifth for children aged between 6 and 9 and even half for children aged 10 and over. Most parents also do not adhere to the recommendations regarding the age at which children should start using social networks and a third regarding the age of first use of a mobile phone. The results also show that the age range of 10–12 years is particularly important, as this is the age at which most children begin all aspects of internet use, including access via smartphones.

Among parents, 84 per cent say that their children use the internet, and as many as 17 per cent are parents of children under the age of 3. The age of 10–12 is a turning point, as almost all parents surveyed state that their children use the internet. Parents of children aged 13 and over all report that their children use the internet. Parents report that children aged 3–10 use the internet most frequently for 1 hour per day, and later for 2 hours per day. A third of parents of children aged 13–17 state that their children use the internet for 4 hours or more per day.

According to parents, children watch videos on the internet most often, except at the age of 16–17, when playing video games comes first. A third of children aged 3–5 start playing video games, while by the age of 10–12, four-fifths of children and around 90 per cent of older children play them. At the age of 10–12, almost all children use the internet for schoolwork. At this age, half of the children are already using social networks, although the starting age for social networks is generally 13, or they are not allowed to use them without parental permission until the age of 15. At the age of 13–15, the use of social networks (according to parents) is over 90 per cent. Social networks account for most of the time children spend online. YouTube is used the most in all age groups, except for ages 13–15 and 16–17, where Snapchat is used the most.

Parents report that children up to the age of 9 use the internet almost exclusively with their parents, apart from games and social networks, which the children also use independently. After this age, parental involvement generally decreases. However, even at older ages, most parents report spending at least half of their child's time watching videos, learning new things, educating themselves, and communicating with them.

Smartphones start to appear among children who use the internet at the age of 6–9, when a third of children already own one. By the age of 10–12, three-quarters of children already have a smartphone, and by the age of 13, virtually all children have one. Children who use the internet but do not yet have a smartphone use other people's smartphones in half of the cases. Older children (16–17 years) received their first mobile phone on average at the age of 11, but for younger children, this age is approaching 10. Half of parents track their child on their mobile phone. The most common restrictions on mobile phone use are a ban on using the phone during mealtimes (93 per cent), followed by a ban on use at night (75 per cent), and restrictions on the subscription package (60 per cent). 48 per cent of parents use parental controls for the device, while 41 per cent prohibit bringing the mobile phone to school. However, these restrictions quickly disappear as the child gets older: 73 per cent of parents of children aged 16–17 say their children take their mobile phones to school.

Two-thirds of parents of children aged 13–17 say that their child is influenced online by beauty ideals, which, together with the influence of online advertising, dominate. In terms of influencing children online, parents cite online influencers, peer pressure, controversial values, violent video games and online pornography.

According to parents, a quarter (24 per cent) of children aged 3+ have encountered inappropriate or illegal content. Most of these are offensive content (63 per cent), bad examples (59 per cent) and violence (56 per cent), followed by misleading content (44 per cent) and adult content (14 per cent). According to parents, the majority (74 per cent) of children were annoyed, and 16 per cent were very annoyed. According to parents, most of them informed their parents (85 per cent), and some also informed their peers (38 per cent). A quarter of parents who reported this stated that they had reported inappropriate content but had not received any feedback on their report.

In terms of infinite scrolling, according to parents, children's use begins before the age of 3 (i.e., ages 0–2) and then quickly increases to 100 per cent at ages 15–17, when daily use exceeds 50 per cent of the time spent online. Again, the age of 10–12 is the turning point, as this is when most children (66 per cent) begin this type of use. Parents are moderately concerned about this.

Despite the relatively small sample size, the results obtained provide a revealing insight into children's internet use (from the parents' perspective) and parents' attitudes towards their children's internet use. It should be emphasised that parents' views (especially at an older age) may differ from their children's views and from their children's actual use of the internet. 

Find more information about the work of the Slovenian Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline, and youth participation services, or find similar information for other Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.