Why kids are more tech-savvy than adults in the UAE?

• More than a third aged six years or under own an iPad or tablet.
• Young kids up to age six are more likely to own a separate device than use an adult’s or share among siblings, YouGov survey reveals.
• Even though children’s total screen time has increased considerably after the pandemic, not many parents perceive it to be a negative development.

More than a third (36 per cent) of young children in the UAE, up to the age of 6 years, possess their own iPad or tablet, YouGov’s latest research revealed.

The survey questioned parents on their child’s interaction with digital devices to understand the likely impact of this engagement.

Private device ownership is highest in this age group when compared to using an adult’s device or sharing it among siblings (36 per cent vs 22 per cent and 16 per cent respectively).

Zafar Shah of YouGov, said that children today are growing up in a digital age and devices have become a part of their daily lives.

“The data shows a considerable proportion of young kids have their personal gadgets. Numbers are notably high for smartphones and tablets. Parents of young children in the UAE especially have a favourable attitude towards digital devices and allow private ownership of gadgets among kids.

“This presents a lucrative segment of consumers for device makers. Therefore, understanding the mindset and needs of parents becomes important to approach these potential buyers in the best possible way,” he said.

Apart from the iPads and tablets, a considerable number of children within this age group (0-6 years) have their smartphones (31 per cent), laptops or computers (27 per cent) and handheld computer games (23 per cent). The ownership of gaming consoles is comparatively lower at 18 per cent.

The data showed that at present two in five children (43 per cent) in the UAE have their tablets or iPads. Out of this total proportion, 36 per cent of iPad/ tablet owners belong to the group age of 0-6 years.

Negative concerns

The coronavirus pandemic forced people to stay indoors, which resulted in higher adoption of digital mediums and devices for education and entertainment.

Unsurprisingly, four in five parents in the UAE said their child’s screen time has increased after the pandemic. Even though children’s total screen time has increased considerably after the pandemic, not many parents perceive it to be a negative development.

Two out of five (40 per cent) parents look at their child’s interaction with digital devices favourably and said that it has a positive impact on them. Three in ten (31 per cent), however, think otherwise and feel digital devices affect their child negatively.

Parents whose youngest child is between 0-6 years were more likely to say tech gadgets affect their child positively when compared to the rest of the parents.

With schools moving online, it is not surprising to see a large majority of UAE parents (56 per cent) saying digital devices help keep up with schoolwork during this time.

According to parents, other benefits of using digital devices include enhancement of their child’s learning skills (42 per cent) and exposure to a variety of ideas and opinions (37 per cent).

Effect on child’s mood

A third of parents (32 per cent) with children between 0-6 years age group claim digital devices have been beneficial in building their child’s problem-solving skills. 

Talking about the negative outcomes, a majority of parents claim digital devices have a detrimental impact on their child’s physical health (54 per cent) and lead to excess time being spent online (52 per cent).

Many are concerned about its effect on their child’s mood (44 per cent) and their exposure to inappropriate content (45 per cent). Notably, all these concerns are greater amongst parents with older children (6 years and above).

To deal with these issues, parents are taking several measures. Half the parents set a limit for screen use (50 per cent), encourage their child to participate in fun activities and educate them about privacy concerns (48 per cent each).

Keeping a check on their child’s digital activity (46 per cent), adding parental controls (45 per cent) and restricting the use of devices during bedtime (45 per cent) are some of the other ways through which parents try to safeguard their child’s usage of digital devices.