Girls adopt smartphone activities faster than boys, says McAfee

McAfee Consumer Mindset (Mobile Data) surveyed parents and children about their mobile behaviors as part of its larger 2022 Connected Families research.

Research says that girls adopted social media and other related smartphone activities faster than boys. (Pixabay)

What you read is true! Based on McAfee's latest research data among Indian teens and parents, it is said that girls adopted social media and other related smartphone activities faster than boys. Moreover, the McAfee 2022 Consumer Mindset Survey: Mobile Report proves that as mobile devices replace PCs/laptops as the primary device, a high level of trust in smartphone security exists among children and teens. However, that is coupled with a low level of protection, despite an all-time high.

Below are some interesting insights that this McAfee research brings to the table.

Trust on mobile devices

McAfee says that while consumers understand their desktops and laptops need protection, awareness of the need for protection of mobile devices has not kept pace. On a global scale, children and teens have higher trust in mobile devices. Most children (59 percent) assume a new phone is more secure than a new computer, whereas their parents are equally split (49 percent).

In India, most children (75 percent) think a new phone is more secure than a new computer, whereas only 71 percent of parents agree.

Children's devices are less protected

While the majority of parents (56 percent) use passwords to protect mobile devices, only 41 percent of children and teens do, creating safety risks. In India, 57% of parents use passwords to protect mobile devices, while only 43 percent of children and teens do, creating safety risks.

Children are experiencing adult risks. One in 10 parents have reported that children had experienced a financial information leak, and 15 percent of children report that an attempt had been made to steal their online account.

Parental control is popular

In India, 39 percent of parents of boys aged between 10-14 put mobile parental controls software on their children's devices compared to 33 percent for girls of the same age. Younger boys report more cyberbullying and online threats than girls of the same age, a pattern that held across all threats examined.

In India, 27 percent of boys between 10-14 years of age reported a threat to their account compared to 21 percent of girls in the same age bracket. In India, 21 percent of boys between 10-14 reported cyberbullying. 20 percent of girls between 10-14 reported cyberbullying.

Gender Parity

Research showed that at the age of 15, mobile use jumps significantly and stays consistent into adulthood on a global scale. Girls reported an earlier adoption of mobile usage in many countries studied, particularly in North America and Europe. In these regions, significantly more girls ages 10-14 are using mobile devices than boys of the same age.

Globally, 53 percent of girls across all age groups use social networks compared to 44 percent of boys. In India, 52 percent of girls 10-14 stream music compared to 42 percent of boys. In India, 38 percent of girls online shop compared to 32 percent of boys.

However, when it comes to gaming it is different. 55 percent of boys between 10-14 are gaming on mobile compared to 45 percent of girls the same age.