Australian kids are increasingly preferring face-to-face interactions with adults and peers over screens, challenging the stereotype of “screen-obsessed” youth.
New research, commissioned by child protection organisation Act for Kids, surveyed 308 children aged 10-16, providing remarkable insights into their online habits. It found that 41% would rather connect with family in real life compared to only 15% who preferred to spend time online.
The study, which is part of Act for Kids’ Let’s Connect IRL (In Real Life) campaign, also found that 76% felt most connected to their family when they were talking in-person about their day, despite almost half (46%) spending more than one hour per day talking to someone online.
Act for Kids program manager Jacinta Rogers said the research indicates a broader trend of young people preferring interpersonal communication over digital.
“Our campaign was co-designed by children, and their feedback was clear: we need to listen to kids’ voices and explore meaningful ways to connect with them, including going online together,” Rogers told The Educator.
The children who co-designed the campaign indicated that they also prefer communicating with those their own age face-to-face rather than online.
“I think (the online world) makes me feel a bit insecure because people are being bullied online and that’s not OK,” 12-year-old Saanvi Makkar said.
“It is actually very important for a parent to make sure their child is ok with social media, especially TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat …they can impact a child’s brain very severely if they’re not using it in the right way.”
Another child who helped design the campaign, 10-year-old Teanna Kariyawasam said: “the online world is exciting because you can learn new things and play cool games. But sometimes it feels too fast, and I think it’s easy to forget to enjoy the real world.”
With Australia set to become the first country to introduce a social media delay for children under the age of 16 by the end of the year, this is a critical time to help make positive changes in children’s daily lives and find alternative ways to keep kids connected, said Rogers.
“This could include going online together to play games, or better yet bring back the board games and consider hosting activities with kids and their friends in real life.”
With Child Protection Week underway, Rogers encouraged schools to leverage the Let’s Connect IRL (In Real Life) campaign for impact within their teaching and learning communities by accessing the Act for Kids website.
“There are free tip sheets available to download on the following topics: Helping Kids Disconnect, Smart Ways to Switch Off info for kids, Tips for Kids to Stay Safe Online and Play Connect Protect parent info,” she said.
“We also have a free screen time plan available to download for educators to share with their own community, friends and family.”