The latest data regarding children and young people’s relationship with screens in Türkiye revealed a striking picture. While the time spent on social media in the 15-21 age group reaches 3 hours and 24 minutes a day, two out of every three children aged 6-15 use social media. This rate rises to 79 percent in the 11-15 age group. While one-third of children check their phones at least every half hour, one in three children say they read fewer books and study less because of the screen.
TIME LIMIT EXCEEDED
According to the “Youth Media Use and Digital Literacy Research” conducted by RTÜK with 7 thousand 511 young people between the ages of 15-21 in 26 provinces, the average daily social media usage time of young people is 3 hours 24 minutes. The duration was measured as 3 hours 34 minutes for women and 3 hours 15 minutes for men.
THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOESN’T HAVE AN ACCOUNT!
Another striking result of the research emerged regarding social media account ownership. According to RTÜK data, all of the information on the social media accounts of approximately one in four young people is publicly available. A high level of screen addiction was detected in 37 out of every 100 young people. 52.1 percent of young people use social media to follow brands and 46.7 percent to shop online. The rate of those who prefer social media to get news is 82.4 percent, while online news sites remain at 75.6 percent and television remains at 53.7 percent.
3 HOURS 24 MINUTES
The numbers also clearly reveal the transformation in media consumption. While young people’s daily social media use increases to 3 hours and 24 minutes, the time spent on on-demand digital broadcast platforms is 58 minutes and the time spent watching television is only 40 minutes. On the other hand According to TÜİK’s Children’s Information Technology Usage Survey, 91.3 percent of children aged 6-15 in Türkiye use the internet.. TOrInternet usage was measured as 92.2 percent among male children and 90.3 percent among female children.
ACCESS FROM SMARTPHONE
The more striking picture emerges on social media. 66.1 percent of children in the 6-15 age group use social media. The rate is 68.1 percent for boys and 64 percent for girls. YouTube is by far the first place among the platforms used by children. 96.3 percent of children using social media use YouTube, 41.5 percent use Instagram, 26.2 percent use TikTok, and 21.4 percent use Snapchat. The most important way to access the screen is the smartphone. In Türkiye, 76.1 percent of children in the 6-15 age group use mobile phones or smartphones.
AN OBSTACLE TO STUDYING
TÜİK research also reveals what screen use replaces in children’s daily lives. 34.4 percent of children say they read less books because they spend more time in front of the screen. 33.3 percent say they study less, and 25.5 percent say they spend less time with their family. 18.6 percent of children stated that they met less with their friends face to face or played less games, and 17.2 percent stated that they slept less because of the screen.
A GREAT DUTY FOR FAMILIES!
Developmental Psychology Science Specialist Sinem Özen Canbolat lists the following warnings for families: “There should be no screens in the first three years of age. There should be no social media before the age of 16. It is necessary to know how much time the child spends on which platform, to be protected from content that is not appropriate for his age, and to set limits on screen time. Uncontrolled social media use, especially at young ages; It can negatively affect many areas, from attention span to sleep patterns, from school success to social relations. “It is extremely important to set correct limits instead of banning, to establish open communication with the child, and for parents to set an example with their own screen habits.”
