It is worrisome that children spend several hours "tiktoking" at the age of ten

According to the announcement, the NMHH and the Magyar Elektronikus Műsorszolgálták Egyesülete (MEME) conducted research last fall with the aim of exploring consumption habits related to the use of digital devices and various media content.

They wrote that the use of different devices and platforms in children's media consumption changes and shifts more quickly in the direction of new technology than in older age groups.

It turned out that in the majority of the surveyed families, a significant part of the children get their first smartphone when they enter the upper grades.

According to the data, it is hardly possible to talk about Internet use and online games in preschool age, and traditional games still play the main role. The almost exclusive purpose of using the Internet is for children to watch their favorite fairy tales and cartoons, primarily on YouTube and some fairy tale websites.

Online games are already available for elementary school children, but still with relatively strong parental supervision. In addition to children's films, short, colorful, funny videos and online games are more present in the daily lives of 6-11-year-olds: for girls, they prefer dress-up, animal, care-based ones, and for boys, Minecraft and Fortnite - they found.

In the same age group, internet access plays an increasingly important role in education and foreign language learning from year to year. The use of social media appears more often among them, including TikTok rather than Facebook - they wrote.

Among 10-15-year-olds, "social media is flourishing", the main activity of surfing the Internet is checking Facebook, Instagram and TikTok profiles, posting, exchanging Messenger messages. In this age group, two out of three children are on Facebook, but the TikTok presence is also strong: every second or third child "tiktoks".

It was found that among seniors, Internet use is no longer only for social media, learning, and foreign language education, but is also a good tool for maintaining contact with distant relatives and friends.

The parents and teachers interviewed have roughly the same opinion about the advantages and disadvantages of using digital devices, social media and television sets: they agree that watching TV and using the Internet under controlled conditions - including the choice of content and time limits - can be an advantage for for children, especially schoolchildren.

Parents of upper school students are more sensitive and worried about almost all threats than parents of lower school students. 16 percent of them experienced significantly more often that their children sometimes come across unwanted content.

17 percent of parents of seniors reported that their children are also exposed to internet bullying, they wrote. Ten of them also said that their child's password was stolen or their profile was hacked, they added.
In unison, they mostly fear harassment of their children and the presence of aggressive, sexual content, but they are also afraid that their child will develop an Internet addiction - wrote the NMHH.

The majority of parents, teachers and kindergarten pedagogues also agree that the main risk is a decrease in physical activity due to a sedentary lifestyle, and thus the deterioration of children's physical condition. 38-44 percent of the parents interviewed are afraid of this danger, while the teachers and pedagogues view the issue as much more worrying: 62-78 percent of them share this opinion, the announcement states.

(Source: marmalade.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)