Zero to Eight: Children's Media Use in America 2013

On October 28, 2013 Common Sense Media of San Francisco issued their two year follow-up to their study of October 2011: Zero to Eight: Children's Media Use in America 2013 by Vicky Rideout. Key findings in the 2013 report were:

"Children’s access to mobile media devices is dramatically higher than it was two years ago.

"Among families with children age 8 and under, there has been a five-fold increase in ownership of tablet devices such as iPads, from 8% of all families in 2011 to 40% in 2013. The percent of children with access to some type of 'smart' mobile device at home (e.g., smartphone, tablet) has jumped from half (52%) to three-quarters (75%) of all children in just two years.

"Almost twice as many children have used mobile media compared to two years ago, and the average amount of time children spend using mobile devices has tripled.

"Seventy-two percent of children age 8 and under have used a mobile device for some type of media activity such as playing games, watching videos, or using apps, up from 38% in 2011. In fact, today, 38% of children under 2 have used a mobile device for media (compared to 10% two years ago). The percent of children who use mobile devices on a daily basis – at least once a day or more – has more than doubled, from 8% to 17%. The amount of time spent using these devices in a typical day has tripled, from an average of :05 a day among all children in 2011 up to :15 a day in 2013. [Throughout the report, times are presented in hours:minutes format. For example, “1:46” indicates one hour and 46 minutes.] The difference in the average time spent with mobile devices is due to two factors: expanded access, and the fact that those who use them do so for longer periods of time. Among those who use a mobile device in a typical day, the average went from :43 in 2011 to 1:07 in 2013."