Tablet clearly in first place among children
For the first time, Net-Metrix has published data on Internet use among 0- to 13-year-olds in Switzerland. Nearly half of children under 14 are online regularly; the older the child, the more intensively they use the Web; children most often use a tablet for this purpose.
As part of an online survey, around 4,000 online users were asked how the children in their household use the Internet. Data was collected on around 1,800 children, which was published as part of the NET- Metrix-Base Trend study at the end of October.
The older, the "onliner
Not surprisingly, teenagers are more active on the web than young children. While 95 percent of 10- to 13-year-olds are online-savvy, only 12 percent of 0- to 4-year-olds are. Among kindergarten and primary school children (ages 5 to 9), more than half surf the Internet at least occasionally.
The proportion of heavy users (= use the Internet daily or almost daily) is also highest among the over-10s, at almost 60 percent. In the middle age group, only a quarter are online every day, and the number of youngest users is too small to make a representative statement.
Streaming high on the agenda
Streaming is the most popular activity on the net: Two-thirds of young onliners watch videos on the web (e.g., on YouTube or Vimeo), watch online TV (e.g., on Wilmaa, Zattoo or Teleboy) or listen to music online. Children also enjoy playing online games (58 percent) and more than half still search for information on the World Wide Web. Only just one-fifth browse social networks, blogs, forums or wikis.
Tablet very popular
Which devices do children use most often to watch videos, play games or Google? 58 percent of online users use a tablet, which can also be a family device. Devices with larger screens, such as desktop PCs or laptops, fall to the bottom of the list.
Smartphones are predominantly used by the oldest age group: 72 percent of children's smartphone users are at least 10 years old.
Photo: Nadine Doerle
