Nevertheless, more than half of the youngsters are allowed to use the internet unsupervised. And more than a third of them spend an average of up to two hours online a day. These are, among other things, the results of a current representative study commissioned by the IT security manufacturer ESET, for which more than 1,000 parents with children up to 18 years of age were surveyed.
Children are coming into contact with digital devices at an increasingly early age
According to the survey, almost 60 percent of children have their own smartphone or tablet. The evaluation also shows that they are coming into contact with digital media at an increasingly early age: almost a quarter of little ones under the age of four are already equipped with a mobile device, while the figure for four to seven year olds is already over half, and for eight to eight year olds Eleven-year-olds even 74 percent. Almost everyone (91%) among teenagers owns a smartphone or tablet.

Survey of 1,030 parents by YouGov Deutschland GmbH; Period: August 23rd - 30th, 2022, multiple answers possible / Screenshot: ESET
“Digital media and devices have become a second playground for children. Even the littlest ones are already watching videos on their parents’ smartphone or tablet, clicking, typing and swiping on the smartphone as if it were the most normal thing in the world,” explains Ildikó Bruhns, ESET project manager at Saferkidsonline. “It is not surprising that young people develop a natural curiosity for the Internet and devices. It is all the more important that they learn early on how to deal with it responsibly and sensibly.”
Country comparison: Parents' biggest concerns are cyberbullying and grooming
Almost all mothers and fathers (90%) worry when their children are on the Internet. Around a third of parents say that online bullying and sexual harassment cause them the most sleepless nights, particularly among 12 to 14 year olds (37%). Mothers and fathers from Hesse are the most worried about this issue at 46 percent, followed by people from Hamburg (41%).
A quarter of those surveyed are concerned about content that is not suitable for children, most of all among children between four and seven. This problem primarily concerns parents from Saarland (40%) and Rhineland-Palatinate (32%). One in seven people thinks about contacting strangers on the Internet, especially in the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt (23%) and Bremen (21%).

Survey of 1,030 parents by YouGov Deutschland GmbH; Period: August 23rd – 30th, 2022 / Screenshot: ESET
However, 65 percent of parents say that, to their knowledge, their children have not had any bad experiences online. Only one in six children encountered unsuitable content; this affects all age groups roughly equally. One in nine children has made unauthorized in-app purchases, especially among 12 to 17 year olds. Seven percent of children have been harassed or bullied or caught a computer virus. Five percent fell for a scam email.
YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram are among the top 3 apps
Social media determines the everyday life of kids: The video platform YouTube is particularly popular with eight to eleven year olds (68%). Usage tends to decrease among teenagers (15 to 17 years old). The latter tend to prefer the messenger service WhatsApp, which ranks second (61%). A good half of this age group and 12 to 14 year olds use TikTok, making them the third most frequently. But every ninth child under the age of four and a quarter of eight to eleven year olds already have the popular short video app on their screen.
Instagram ranks fourth with 26 percent, followed by gaming apps, which a quarter of eight to eleven year olds rely on most. Thuringians in particular have the greatest weakness for online games at 40 percent.
Even the youngest surf for longer and (sometimes) alone
Around a third of kids use their devices for up to two hours a day, with Thuringians by far at 56 percent. 12 to 14 year olds (39%) and eight to eleven year olds (36%) spend the most time in front of a screen. But the proportion of children under four is also quite high at more than a third. Around a fifth of children also use their devices for up to three hours a day, especially young people in Saxony-Anhalt (41%) and Schleswig-Holstein (39%).

Survey of 1,030 parents by YouGov Deutschland GmbH; Period: August 23rd – 30th, 2022 / Screenshot: ESET
What is worrying is that almost half of children spend their time unsupervised on the Internet; for four to seven year olds and eight to eleven year olds this is around a quarter each. Even among the youngest children, one in seven children surfs without parental supervision. Almost half of those under the age of four browse the Internet under partial surveillance, and this also applies to 12 to 14 year olds. For eight to eleven year olds it is even 57 percent. Only one in six children is not allowed to use digital devices every day.
About the survey
The data used is based on a representative online survey that YouGov conducted on behalf of ESET Germany. Across Germany, 1,030 parents took part in August/September 2022. The results have been weighted and are representative of families with children under 18 years of age.
Source:
ESET
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