More five years are playing on the internet than watching television
Even children as young as three are accessing the internet on average 8 hours a week. Could the reason for this be that children are now more exposed than before to digital technology, e.g., smartphones, Ipads, etc? With kids spending more time on the internet is this better than watching television?
The research from Ofcom shows that a majority of young children spend time watching videos on YouTube. For children, this is an easy way to watch cartoons and movies.
Many children are being brought up in an environment where digital technology is all around them; some young children even have their own tablet or Ipad. For some parents, they are less concerned about the amount of time spent on these digital devices than they are about the length of time watching television.
Many could argue that do children as young as three, four and five-year-olds need to be accessing digital technology or watching hours of TV, when there are so many other things young children could be doing.
Finding other things to help children’s development is relatively easy, playing outside or sharing a story or two are far more beneficial than watching a cartoon on the Ipad.
Children can come very reliant on spending time on the internet watching movies on their Ipad, and this could start to affect other areas of their development, they can often isolate them self from others and retreat into a world of their own.
So should young children be spending time playing on smartphones, tablets and Ipads?