Children dedicate most time to watching the TV screen, according to the latest Kids Tech Consumer Survey from Futuresource Consulting.
The study found that kids aged three to 16 spend an average of 4.8 hours a week watching TV.
The survey included the UK, France, Germany, US, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil.
This compares to 3.9 hours participating in active play and 3.5 hours watching TV and/or video content on a mobile device. However, China bucked the trend with active play being the most undertaken activity among children. US children spent the most amount of time in front of the TV, at close to an average of one hour per day.
Meanwhile, 63 per cent of children surveyed said they use another electronic device while watching TV with the figure rising to 75 per cent among 13-16-year. Half of the survey’s respondents played mobile/tablet games and close to a third watched other video content. Among the older age groups, 55 per cent said they were looking at social media and online chat.
Esports proved to be particularly popular, 32 per cent of respondents said that they were active watchers of others playing video games. The figure peaks in the US at 45 per cent, dipping to 17 per cent for France and Germany. Whilst most of the viewing skews towards boys, 25 per cent of girls also watch esports. YouTube Gaming is used by 64 per cent of viewers, while 30 per cent used the dedicated esports platform Twitch. Two thirds said they watched esports at least three times a week.
Carl Hibbert, associate director of Consumer Media and Technology at Futuresource Consulting, said: “Our latest round of research confirmed that the TV-set is still the go-to platform for the majority of kids, but second screen viewing continues to rise, particularly in the UK and US where around half of kids are regular consumers of TV and video content on portable screens.”
