French children get their first smartphone at 11 years and four months on average, according to a study

The majority of parents do not feel sufficiently supported in the digital education of their children, a feeling which has intensified since 2021, reveals this study by the Observatory of Parenthood and Digital Education carried out by Ipsos media and published Tuesday.

French children acquire their first smartphone at 11 years and four months on average, according to a study by the Observatory of Parenthood and Digital Education carried out by Ipsos Media, revealed by franceinfo on Tuesday October 8.

According to this study, this average age even drops to 9 years and five months for obtaining a tablet. “Screens are playing an increasingly important role in children’s lives, mainly due to the increased use of smartphones by young people”writes the Observatory of Parenthood and Digital Education. “More than half of children aged 7 to 17 have their own smartphone.”

According to the study, almost 70% of children aged 7 to 17 use the Internet daily, with a preference for services like YouTube, TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat. Furthermore, children spend on average 4 hours per day on their smartphones during holidays and weekends, a time which increases with age. Regarding this use, the majority of parents do not feel sufficiently supported in the digital education of their children, a feeling which has intensified since 2021. In fact, 53% of parents do not feel sufficiently supported in the education of their children, compared to 46% in 2021.

Finally, the feeling of passing “too much time” on screens has been declining for three years, both for parents and children. 71% of parents believe that they pass “too much time on screens” compared to 77% in 2021. 74% estimate that the child passes “too much time” on screens compared to 79% in 2021. 59% of children themselves think that they are spending “too much time” on screens compared to 62% in 2021.

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Methodology:
This study by the Observatory of Parenthood and Digital Education was carried out by Ipsos media via an online questionnaire, from February 8 to 16, 2024. 1,800 people responded to this questionnaire, including a sample of 1,200 parents representative of parents of children aged 7 to 17 years and a sample of 600 children representative of children aged 7 to 17 years old.