Kids spend an average of three hours or more each day on social media, videos/OTT and online games, 61% urban Indian parents of children aged 9-17 told LocalCircles during a survey.
The survey received over 46,000 responses from urban Indian parents located in 296 districts of India. 62% respondents were men, while 38% respondents were women. 47% respondents were from tier 1, 35% from tier 2 and 18% respondents were from tier 3 and 4 districts.
15% SPEND MORE THAN 6 HOURS A DAY
As all children don’t spend the same time on the internet, the first survey question sought to know from citizens: “How much average time per day are children between ages 9-17 in your family spending on social media, videos/OTT and online games on the internet?”
This query received 11,507 responses with 61% urban Indian parents of children between 9-17 sharing that their children spend an average of 3 hours or more each day on social media, videos/OTT and online games. The data shows 39% of respondents shared that their wards spend 1-3 hours on their gadgets each day; 46% stated it was 3-6 hours daily and 15% shared that their wards spend more than 6 hours on social media, videos/OTT and online games. Not a single respondent denied that their children/ wards did not spend time on social media or online entertainment.
37% PARENTS SAY KIDS SPEND MOST TIME WATCHING VIDEOS/OTT
The survey next sought to know what engages the children between ages 9-17 the most when using various online platforms. Some among the 12,017 respondents to this query selected more than one option with the majority indicating that their children are addicted to social media, videos or online gaming and in some cases one or more such mediums. The data shows that 37% of Indian parents shared that their children spent most time watching videos/OTT (YouTube, Prime Video, Netflix, Hotstar, etc.); 35% of respondents indicated that their children spent most time on social media (Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Be Real, etc.); 33% of respondents indicated that their children are into online gaming (Minecraft, PUBG, Fortnight, Among US, FIFA, Fantasy Sports, etc.); 10% of respondents indicated “other activities online”; and 2% were not sure. Among the respondents, 8% were happy that their children are “luckily not addicted to any of the above” social media platforms, online games or entertainment.
39% RESPONDENTS SAY KIDS SHOW SIGNS OF AGGRESSION
Seeking to understand the level of negative impact on social behavior and/or mental health of children, the survey then asked: “What all emotional or mental impact of social media, videos/OTT and online games do you see on your children between the ages 9-17 years?”
Some among the 11,697 respondents indicated more than one impact. The largest group of 39% indicated “aggression” followed by 37% indicating “impatient”; 27% stated that they are “lethargic”; 25% described them as “hyperactive”; 22% sharing that they are “depressed”; and 6% of respondents stating that there are other impacts. On the positive side, 10% of the parents described their children as being “more social” and 8% indicated that they are “happier” while 2% stated none of the above applied to their children aged 9-17 years.
73% SAY PARENTAL CONSENT SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
A major objective of the Digital Private Data Protection Law, which mandates parental consent being sought for apps that are used by children under the age of 18, the survey sought to know: “Should India operationalize on priority the mandatory parental consent for children under 18 to join social media, OTT/video and online gaming platforms?” The query received 11,798 responses with 73% stressing “yes, absolutely”; 13% however stated “no, the minimum age to join without consent should be 15 years”; 9% of respondents felt “no, the minimum age to join without consent should be retained at 13”; and 5% of the respondents gave no clear response choosing “can’t say”.
The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey. LocalCircles is a community social media platform that enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables the Government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric.
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