No time restrictions on online activity for over third of children aged 8-12

Sarah Buckley, Evie Field,  Cecelia Lowry, Thea Murray, Rose Callan and Dhruvika Hajra at Our Lady of Mercy Convent School, Booterstown, Dublin at the launch of CyberBreak, a nationwide 24-hour digital detox initiative supported by the HSE. Picture: Gareth Chaney

More than a third of children aged 8-12, and two-thirds of those aged 12-15, have no time restrictions on online activity, and more than half say their parents are on devices when they are together.  

A survey of 1,200 children and young people from online safety charity CyberSafeKids also found 18% of 8- to 12-year-olds, and 20% of people aged 12-15, find it hard to switch off from products designed to keep them online.

Some young people spend their days 'bookended' by being online, through falling asleep with devices (20% of 8- to 12-year-olds, and 37% of 12- to 15-year-olds) and going online immediately after waking (9% of 8-to 12-year-olds, and 23% of 12- to 15-year-olds). 

This "near constant connectivity" is facilitated when devices are kept in bedrooms overnight, according to CyberSafeKids, as is the case for 56% of 8- to 12-year-olds, and 69% of 12- to 15-year-olds. 

"Screens in bedrooms, especially overnight, affect not only sleep but overall wellbeing," said CyberSafeKids chief executive Alex Cooney. 

"Children need clear boundaries around device use at home, and the fact that many have no restrictions at all is alarming given the harmful content and contact inherent in digital environments." 

More than half of young people told the survey their parents are on their devices either ‘a lot of the time’ or ‘all the time’ when they are with them. 

Brian Higgins, HSE assistant national director, Adult Mental Health, said: “While the benefits of technology are increasingly seen through digital health supports and innovations, the distraction and harm caused to our mental health by constant social media use is undoubted." 

The findings of the survey have been published to launch CyberBreak 2026, supported by the HSE, which urges families, schools, and workplaces to switch off all smart devices from 7pm on Friday, to take a 24-hour break from the online world. 

Meanwhile, legislation that would mandate the limiting of predatory design features and introduce mechanisms to reduce harm to children on social media platforms should be brought in, a committee has recommended.

It also recommended that a mandatory age classification system be established for all digital products and services based on the risk they pose to child development.

Among its recommendations was that legislation be introduced that would operationalise safety by design by mandating the adoption of approaches that limit predatory design features and embed behavioural design into platform design, and features that reduce harm to children.

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It further recommended mandating the disabling by default of addictive features for minors, including infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmic amplification of harmful content, and behavioural profiling.

A mandatory age classification system should be established for all digital products and services based on the risk they pose to child development, the report added.

It said this is similar to age limits that apply to toys, films, and any other commercial products and services that may be engaged with by children.

It said that blocking underage access to content at a national level should be prioritised. 

Research shows that some 93% of children aged 8-12 own a smart device and 97% aged 12-14 own a smartphone.