Madrid (EFE).- Minors spend about four hours a day outside the classroom – the equivalent of two months a year – connected to screens, where social networks such as Tik Tok triumph among them over communication applications such as WhatsApp.
The data is highlighted in the study “From Alpha to Zeta; educating the digital generations”, which is produced by the Qustodio platform, specialized in digital security and control for families, which has more than four million users worldwide, and which every year examines the use that minors make of the Internet : the hours they spend in front of the screens, the applications and networks they use the most or the consequences that hyper-connectivity can cause.
The study analyzes trends and the use of screens by minors between the ages of 4 and 18 in four countries (Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia) and some 400,000 have participated anonymously. families, according to the data provided by this platform.
The person in charge of this platform, Eduardo Cruz, stressed today during the presentation of the study to the press the importance of adopting a “digital diet” to take advantage of the internet and screens and try to avoid their risks and threats.
Recommendations for use
And among the main recommendations and advice for minors to make responsible and non-abusive use of the screens, he cited the importance of establishing a “technological schedule”, of discussing digital environments, of preventing the little ones from locking themselves in the room to use the screens, to share digital content with the family, to offer attractive alternatives in the physical or “real” world and for the elderly to set an example.
Eduardo Cruz has underlined the interest in establishing connectivity-free schedules and that screens do not subtract time or space from other activities -sleep, studies or leisure activities-, and has warned that hyper-connectivity or continuous connection is becoming a Serious problem in many cases and generating addiction problems for numerous minors who end up perceiving that the “physical” or real world is “a hindrance” in their lives.
Among the most striking data, it stands out that 15.6 percent of the families that have participated in the study recognize that the abuse of screens generates problems on a daily basis at home, and that these conflicts are repeated once or twice a week. in 34 percent of homes.
Social networks were once again the main digital attraction for minors in 2022, an indicator that is repeated in the four countries in which the study was carried out, and in Spain the data reveals that they spend almost an hour a day on these networks, especially in Tik Tok, which clearly surpasses networks such as Instagram among minors -increasingly used by people over 30 and 40- Snapchap, Facebook or Twitter.
On the contrary, in Spain the use of messaging and communication applications, such as WhatsApp, decreased last year and the time that minors spend in these environments has gone from 30 minutes on average in 2021 to 24 minutes last year.
“Roblox”, the most popular video game
Among video games, the most popular continues to be “Roblox” in the four countries, and the time that minors spend daily on this game exceeds two hours (about 155), according to the data collected in the study.
After the pandemic, the use of educational tools on the Internet has continued to decline, and only one of these platforms -Smartick- has continued to increase the time of use among minors and has stood at 29 minutes on average per day.
And among online video platforms, Prime Video has experienced great progress among minors, although it is still behind Netflix and YouTube, which continues to be the favorite for minors to watch videos in the four countries, while Twitch , which grew by 150 percent in 2020 -the year of confinement- returned to register a slight decrease last year.
