40 pct parents admit children addicted to videos, gaming, social media: Survey

Around 40 per cent of parents in urban areas have admitted that their children aged 9-17 years are addicted to videos, gaming and social media, online platform LocalCircles said in a survey report.

The percentage is higher for children in the age group of 13-17 years while all 40 per cent respondents admitted that their kids spend 3 hours daily on watching videos, using social media and playing games on the internet.

"Over 4 in 10 urban Indian parents believe that their children between the ages 9 - 17 are addicted to videos, gaming and social media. This is a worrying trend and one that needs attention of government, school, parents and platforms that are offering these services," LocalCircles said.

The survey received over 65,000 responses from citizens residing in 287 districts of India from January to November 2022 and the number of responses on each question varied.

At least 62 per cent urban Indian parents in the survey admitted their children aged 13-17 are spending 3 hours or more each day on social media, videos and games on the internet, while 49 per cent respondents for children in the age group of 9-13 years said the same thing.

While most of the social media and online video platforms have set a minimum age of 13 years for opening an account, still 47 per cent parents in the urban area have admitted their children aged 9-13 are absolutely addicted to social media, videos and gaming on the internet. 44 per cent urban Indian parents who have children in the age group of 13-17 admitted that their wards are absolutely addicted to social media, videos and gaming on the internet.

"With a lot of content becoming online and the fast growth of video content, combined with availability of gaming and social media, a lot of urban Indian children have taken to the internet for their learning and entertainment. This entire process significantly accelerated during the pandemic when most children in urban India started online classes with their schools and afterschool," the survey report said.

The survey said that 68 per cent urban Indian parents believe the minimum age requirement for creating a social media account should be changed from 13 years to 15 years.

According to the parents, excessive use of gadgets and giving access to children early along with school activity becoming online during pandemic are key reasons for their children getting addicted to social media, videos and gaming.

"Together, the Government, the parents and the schools need to work together to enable children of urban India in such a way that they use the internet and gadgets constructively to get educated, learn from the best, collaborate and set themselves on the path of success in whatever career they pick. If they do this, they are likely to do significantly better than their previous generations," LocalCircles said.