SINGAPORE, December 3, 2014 – How secure do parents feel when they allow their children access to devices such as smartphones and tablets? In a pioneer study of its kind in the region, theAsianparent Insights, Southeast Asia’s leading parenting portal, answers this question and reveals insights on the parental content censorship, motivations and behavioural trends regarding children’s device usage.

The results of the study, entitled “Mobile Device Usage Among Young Kids: A Southeast Asia Study,” are based on a representative sample of 2,714 parents from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand with at least 3,917 children aged between 3 and 8 years. This study was commissioned by Samsung Kidstime™ in collaboration with theAsianparent.com and helps fill the gap in research in the region by exploring how children are exposed to devices and what parents are doing to monitor their usage.

The following are the key findings of the study:

  • The majority of parents in Southeast Asia (98%) allow children to use smartphone or tablet devices.
  • 41% of children are most likely to use a device for more than 1 hour per sitting.
  • Although parent’s allow their young children to use devices, they are  worried about the negative effects of device usage on children’s health (92%), the risk of children becoming addicted to devices (90%) and exposing them to inappropriate content (88%). They are also concerned about high billing charges due to in-app purchases made by their children (67%) and damage to devices (60%).
  • Parents allow children access to devices predominantly to supplement their education, with 80% giving this topmost importance. The other motivators include giving children early exposure to technology (68%), providing entertainment (57%) and keeping them children quiet/busy (55%).
  • Children use devices mainly for gaming, videos and educational apps. However, the type of content consumed changes by age. While children aged 3-5 years mostly consume educational apps, videos and games, children aged 6-8 years start playing more games in relation to using educational apps and watching videos, thus, contrasting with their parents’ primary motivation (supplement to education).
  • Children also tend to use devices most frequently at home and least frequently in school: almost the entire sample of parents, 99%, allow children to use devices at home, compared to the 17% who allow children to use devices in school.
  • 94% of SEA parents wish their device included parental control mechanisms.
  • The most requested parental control features are setting usage time limits (72%), in-app purchase blocking (67%) and monitoring of children’s usage or progress (66%).

For a more detailed account of the findings, see the attached full report infographic which reveals detailed insights on the behavioural trends among parents and children in relation to children’s device usage.

Neetu Mirchandani, Tickled Media’s Vice President of Insights for Asia Pacific, says, “theAsianparent Insights is excited to reveal the results of ‘Mobile Device Usage Among Young Kids,’ considering it is the first study of its kind in Southeast Asia. Through the study, our goal is not only to identify and comprehend parents’ concerns and expectations regarding children’s device use as juxtaposed against children’s actual consumption behaviour, but to also explore solutions in bridging the gap between the former and the latter, thus ultimately cultivating a healthy parent-child interaction by way of devices.”

Tickled Media’s CEO, Roshni Mahtani, further highlights, “theAsianparent Insights is dedicated to better understanding the parent demographic by exploring their most pressing concerns and providing the solutions that will help them feel absolutely secure in the decisions they make with regard to their children’s well-being.”

Commissioned by Samsung Kidstime™, the “Mobile Device Usage Among Young Kids: A Southeast Asia Study” report was published in November 2014 by theAsianparent Insights.

A full copy of the report can be found at this link: http://bit.ly/DeviceUsageAmongKids2014

About theAsianparent.com and Tickled Media
Tickled Media Pte Ltd is the largest digital parenting publishing house in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore since 2009, the company runs theAsianparent.com, Kidlander.com and Pregnant.sg. The company’s flagship brand, theAsianparent.com, is Southeast Asia’s #1 digital parenting destination and reaches over 5 million mums in the region. The company is backed by venture capital from LionRock Capital, Tigris Capital and prominent angel investors. For more information, please visit www.tickledmedia.com.