News Headline: "Children's Internet Usage Soars to 91.3% in 2024"

In 2024, the rate of internet usage among children increased to 91.3% compared to 82.7% in 2021. Analyzing internet usage by gender, it was found that 92.2% of boys and 90.3% of girls were using the internet. In 2021, these figures were 83.9% and 81.5%, respectively. According to the data, 97.4% of internet-using children reported regular internet usage, down from 98.6% in 2021. Among children who regularly used the internet, 42.9% spent approximately two hours or more online on weekdays, and 53.6% did so on weekends. When examining this by age groups, the usage for two hours or more on weekdays was 30.6% for ages 6-10 and 54.4% for ages 11-15; on weekends, it was 43.2% and 63.5%, respectively.

Children primarily used the internet for watching videos, accounting for 83.9% of activity among regular users, followed by 75.0% for completing homework or attending online classes, and 72.7% for playing or downloading games. The least common online activity was sending or receiving emails at 13.2%.

In 2024, 66.1% of children used social media, with 68.1% of boys and 64.0% of girls utilizing such platforms. For age groups, social media usage was 53.5% among 6-10 year-olds and 79.0% among 11-15 year-olds. Of those using social media, 97.9% did so regularly. The rate of children spending approximately two hours or more on social media was 37.1% on weekdays and 49.5% on weekends. Among the 11-15 age group, the rate was 20 points higher than that of the 6-10 age group.

The most popular social media platform among children was YouTube, with a usage rate of 96.3%. It was followed by Instagram at 41.5%, TikTok at 26.2%, Snapchat at 21.4%, Pinterest at 13.6%, Facebook at 9.5%, and X at 4.9%. YouTube dominated as the top platform across all age groups. TikTok came second for the 6-10 age group at 11.7%, while Instagram ranked second for the 11-15 group at 63.0%.

The use of mobile phones/smartphones by children in 2024 was 76.1%. For ages 6-10, the rate was 66.3%, and for ages 11-15, it was 86.2%. Of all children, 98.2% reported regular mobile phone/smartphone usage. The primary purposes were browsing the internet at 77.9%, making calls at 77.3%, watching films, series, TV shows or videos at 75.0%, and using social media at 73.6%.

32.6% of regular mobile phone/smartphone users checked their devices every half hour. This habit was seen in 33.9% of boys and 31.2% of girls. Among 6-10 year-olds, 19.6% checked their phones this frequently, while 42.8% of 11-15 year-olds did so. A minority of 3.4% admitted to frequent phone use before sleeping and upon waking, even while watching TV or during meals; 58.6% reported engaging in at least one of these behaviors.

In 2024, 63.8% of children had at least one digital device solely for their use, with 66.9% of boys and 60.5% of girls having such access. Specifically, for mobile phones/smartphones, this was 43.9%, while computers accounted for 35.7%, and smartwatches 14.3%. In 2021, these rates were 39.0%, 46.3%, and 3.9%, respectively.

Digital gaming was part of the lives of 74.0% of children in 2024, with a higher prevalence among boys at 82.8%, compared to 64.8% for girls. Among age groups, 80.6% of 6-10 year-old boys played digital games, as did 70.6% of girls, and this increased to 85.0% of boys and 58.7% of girls in the 11-15 age bracket. Regular digital game players accounted for 90.8%, with 25.6% spending two hours or more on weekdays and 41.8% on weekends engaged in gaming. On weekdays, 21.8% of 6-10 year-olds and 29.8% of 11-15 year-olds played games for two or more hours; on weekends, this was 37.4% and 46.6%, respectively.

Regarding the children’s perspective on gaming, 46.3% believed their parents thought they played too much. Additionally, 40.1% spent more time gaming than planned, 35.6% found it interfered with responsibilities, 29.9% felt they dedicated excessive time to it, and 23.4% felt uneasy and unhappy when not playing.

A significant finding showed that 34.4% of children read less as a result of increased screen time. Other consequences included studying less at 33.3%, spending less time with family at 25.5%, having less face-to-face interaction and play with friends at 18.6%, and sleeping less at 17.2%.

The survey regarding ICT usage among children has evolved from being a sub-module of broader household ICT surveys in 2013 and 2021, to being conducted independently for the first time in 2024, reflecting changes in sampling methods and questionnaire design. The term "children" refers to the 6-15 age group unless specified otherwise, and "regular use" refers to using digital technologies several times a day, daily, almost every day, or at least once a week.