‘Always Connected,’ the latest study from New York-based children’s research lab the Joan Ganz Cooney Center on the media usage patterns of young children, has found evidence that media consumption changes considerably around age eight, as children at that age are developmentally able to engage in activities for longer periods of time, have more advanced motor skills and are developing more complex social relationships.

Consolidating data from several studies conducted by Sesame Workshop, the Cooney Center, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Nielsen, among others, ‘Always Connected’ also found that children under eight aren’t exactly shunning media usage, either. Nearly 80% of young children ages zero to five use the internet at least once a week and just under half of all six-year-olds play videogames.

In addition, media multi-tasking is becoming more predominant, with about 36% of children ages two to 11 using television and the internet simultaneously. In fact, television is still the most frequently used medium, with kids five and up watching at least three hours of television a day.

However, mobile devices are becoming increasingly more popular with children, as four of the top five electronic devices owned by children are mobile platforms. The research also shows that with the growing prevalence of mobile devices comes a widening gap in access to technologies especially among low income and ethnic minority children.

The report is available here.

From Kidscreen Daily