Two thirds of 8-10 year olds spend up to four hours a day on social media: how to explain this phenomenon ?

37% of parents of a Generation Alpha child say they play video games at least once a day. andreswd/Getty Images

They were born and raised with screens. Digital activities occupy an important place in the daily lives of Alpha generation children. So much so that 54% of parents say their child spends up to four hours a day on social media. A proportion roughly similar to that of the Z, according to a study by Morning Consult.

According to the latest study conducted by Morning Consult, 65% of 8-10 year olds spend up to four hours a day on social media, compared to 56% for younger people Z, 13-17 year olds. Despite everything, 41% of 13-17 year olds still spend more than four hours on social networks every day, while a third of 8-10 year olds never use them. Social media is an integral part of North American children, even the youngest. 22% of those under four spend less than an hour per day (17% among 5-7 year olds).

Users getting younger and younger

Study results show that video streaming has become the norm for Alpha children. About half of parents say their child watches content on a video streaming platform at least once a day, compared to 40% for reading books and 37% for video games. Among the most popular platforms, we find YouTube, Disney+ and Netflix in the lead.

However, these digital activities represent only a minority of the interests of Alpha children. 36% of parents stating that their child prefers to spend time indoors in front of a screen, compared to 55% for outdoor activities. A gap which nevertheless narrows as children grow up, "the most significant change occurring when children leave the group of 5-7 years old to enter that of 8-10 years old, indicates the study.

"Although social media is not among Alpha children's top three favorite activities, it is growing in importance for children ages 8 to 10, just after video streaming and video games", underlines Morning Consult.

*Surveys conducted from October 16 to 29, 2023 with a representative sample of 1,002 members of Generation Z aged 13 to 26, and 3 to January 18, 2024 from a representative sample of 2007 parents of children under 11 years old.