Children as young as eight struggle to spend time away from gaming and social media, survey finds

At the launch of CyberBreak, a 24-hour family digital detox hosted by Ireland's online safety charity CyberSafeKids, are TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, and pupils from The Harold School, Glasthule, Dublin. Pictures: Michael Chester

Primary schoolchildren as young as eight are having a hard time disconnecting, with more than one in four (26%) struggling to spend time away from games and social media.

More than half (53%) of eight to 12-year-olds, and almost two-thirds (65%) of 12- to 14-year-olds, believe they spend too much time online.

More than a quarter of eight- to 14-year-olds say they find it hard to spend time away from gaming and social media.

Children also believe they "waste" a lot of time online, with this belief increasing with age.

Almost a quarter of eight- to 12-year-olds believe they waste a lot of time online, increasing to almost 40% of 12- to 14-year-olds.

The findings are included in a survey of more than 7,100 school-age children carried out as part of new research by online safety charity CyberSafeKids.

A complete ban on social media apps for children may not be as simple as often suggested, as many of the children taking part reported positive feelings about being online.

Pupils from The Harold School, Glasthule, at the launch of CyberBreak.

Almost two thirds (61%) of 12- to 14-year-olds reported "having fun", 58% said they felt "connected to others", and 39% said going online helped them with "taking a break from everyday worries".

The survey also found significant differences in the responses given by secondary school-aged girls and boys with regards to how "'being online makes me feel".

Girls were more likely than boys to report experiencing negative feelings such as tiredness (18% vs 11%); jealousy (17% vs 4%); anxiety (8% vs 3%); and fear (8% vs 3%).

'CyberBreak'

CyberSafeKids is encouraging families to take a 'CyberBreak' from 5pm on Friday to 5pm on Saturday, October 19.

Research shows spending less time online helps to reduce anxiety, improve sleep and boosts the mental health for both children and adults, HSE policy lead on national mental health Derek Chambers said.

“But with technology so prevalent, this is easier said than done. Taking a cyber break gives us an opportunity to take a step back and address how we can find a healthy balance between our online and offline lives, as well as making it a fun-filled day for the whole family.”

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Adults know that sometimes it can be too all-consuming, said CyberSafeKids chief executive Alex Cooney. 

"That’s true for kids as well. CyberBreak is about taking time out to reassess how much of our time we spend online, reset the balance and replace the hours we lose to mindlessly scrolling online with some quality family time, or even 'me' time." 

Richard Hogan, author and family psychotherapist said: “It is more important than ever that our children have moments during their busy day away from technology. In the age of ubiquitous internet and smartphones children need time to be children and connect with their friends in real life. So we have to help them to switch off, plug out and tune into life.”