Research Outline

5-10 Year Olds & Connectivity

Goals

To obtain the following US data for a business pitch:
How many 5-10 year olds and 10-15 year olds have phones, and tablets or laptops? How much does the average 5-10 year old text/message and what apps do they use? How many minutes per day are spent talking on the phone, surfing the internet and playing games, emails sent per day and with what app? Additionally, discover the top 30 Google Play and Apple App Store apps 5-10 year olds are using and how many minutes a day they are used. Locate the top 15-20 school related apps 5-10 year old kids using, and how many minutes a day do they use them (e.g Canvas, Google Classroom, etc.).

Early Findings

We spent this first hour of research working on the 5-10 year old demographic, as it will be the most difficult of the two age groups.

Number of Children Who Have Cell Phones

  • 53% of all children in the US own a smartphone by the age of 11.
  • 84% of teenagers have their own phones.

Cell Phones- General Statistics

  • 42% of children between the age of 4 and 14 spend 30+ hours per week on their phones.
  • 57% of kids mainly use their phone for gaming.
  • 12% of children first use a phone between the ages of 1-2.
  • 28% of kids first use a cell phone at age 4 or less
  • 4 in 10 US kids are 6 or under when they first use a cellphone (40%)
  • 65% of preteen kids, under the age of 13 own their own phone .
  • 40% of parents admit to allowing their kids to use cell phones to keep them entertained / give themselves a break.
  • 83% of parents allow their kids to use a phone so they can stay in contact with them.
  • 53% of parents allow their kids to use cell phones as they believe they are educationally beneficial .
  • 50% of parents allow kids to use phones to keep in contact with their buddies.
  • 57% of kids use their phone for gaming.
  • This is followed by 50% of kids who are regularly watching tv/ movies on their phone.
  • 88% of parents know the passcode to their kids phone.

Daily Screen Media Use- 8-12 year olds (2019)

Statistics are shared in hours:minutes

Percent of 8-18 Year Olds With the Following in Their Homes (2019):

  • Smartphone- 91%
  • Laptop- 79%
  • Video Game Player- 78%
  • Tablet- 75%
  • Desktop Computer- 52%.

Top Lists for Apps

  • Boomerang lists their top apps as YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook, AndroidMessages, YouTube Kids, Chrome, Netflix, and Facebook Messenger.
  • ScreenTime located the most popular Android Apps for kids by installs amongst their users. They are as follows:
  • ENTERTAINMENT APPS
  • YouTube
  • Spotify
  • Netflix
  • Bitmoji
  • Amazon Kindle
  • YouTube Kids
  • Shazam
  • Sandbox Color By Numbering Pages
  • Pixel Art Color By Numbers
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • SOCIAL APPS
  • WhatsApp
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Skype
  • Snapchat
  • Facebook Messenger
  • Musical.ly
  • Twitter
  • Group Play
  • Pinterest
  • GAMING APPS
  • Minecraft Pocket Edition
  • Clash Royale
  • Subway Surfers
  • Roblox
  • Clash Of Clans
  • Slither.io
  • Helix Jump
  • Pokemon GO
  • Rider
  • Love Balls

Results of Initial Research

    • As this was a very large ask, the majority of this hour assessed the feasibility of the project and developed a research strategy.
    • The most comprehensive study breaks down usage by age, but starts at age 8. We will use this study, but will also look for others that talk about children ages 5-8 to round out the research.
    • There are multiple lists that can assist with finding the top apps although, it is not clear if they can be defined by the two age groups. It is difficult to get the exact number of downloads publicly, but by combining the lists (we will locate more lists) and attempting to locate download numbers this should be possible. In regard to the number of minutes used, this will most likely be a general insight in the form of minutes per day on apps and not for each individual app.