Blinds-Hut recently conducted a survey to see exactly what children were doing before bed and results showed 44% were looking at digital screens before sleeping, this led to further research to find out what these young individuals are doing and how it affects them.

With phones/tablets being used constantly by children, the worry is increasing, many parents aren’t aware of exactly what their child is doing or how much they use online platforms such as social media. 1 in 10 children meet up with someone they’ve only ever met online & girls between 11-16 are feeling pressured to keep up with the online trends, which regularly keeps them awake at night worrying about body image.

Safer Internet Data

Target:

• The last thing children do before they go to sleep…
  1. Brush teeth 31%
  2. Check phone/iPad 21%
  3. Read 19%
  4. Watch TV 15%
  5. Watch online TV/film/vloggers 8%

That’s 44% of children looking at screens right before they go to sleep

• Over half of parents worried that their child is on the internet/technology too much (52%)
• 1 in 3 parents feel disconnected with their child because of this
• Over 1 in 4 parents say that the internet and technology causes arguments between them and their child
• Over 1 in 4 say that their child becomes tired and irritable from using technology
• Over 60% of parents don’t monitor/check up on their child online
• Over two thirds do not have child safety settings/software on their devices
• 84% of parents don’t supervise their child online
• Two thirds don’t have access to their child’s online passwords and accounts
• Less than 1 in 3 parents give their child time restrictions for when they are allowed online
• Parents say that their child spends on average 2.6 hours online each day
• 1 in 10 children say that they are kept awake at night worried about things they have seen online
• 69% of parents say they know what their child gets up to online – in reality only 39% of children share this information with their parents
• 28% say their child is tired in the mornings because they stay up late on technology – in reality this is slightly higher at 31%
• 1 in 10 parents think their children lie about who they are talking to online – in reality 1 in 5 children admit that they lie to their parents about this
• Over two thirds (65%) say their children are comfortable sharing what they do online with them – but in reality only half (54%) are comfortable with this
• 1 in 4 (25%) parents know about their children interacting with strangers on the internet (people they’ve never met in real life) – in reality this is slightly higher at 28%
• 1 in 10 children meet up with people they have only ever spoken to online in real life but they tell their parents about this
• 1 in 6 (17%) of parents say that their child has lied about their age online – in reality 1 in 4 (24%) have done this
• 9% say that their child has written nasty/inappropriate comments on a another person’s image, profile or video before – in reality this is 11%
• 17% of parents say their child has received nasty/inappropriate comments on a their image, profile or video before – 1 in 5 children’s have actually received these types of comments
• 1 in 10 children have set up fake social media profiles
• Less than 6% know about their child sending inappropriate pictures to people they know
• 1 in 20 parents say their child has sent an inappropriate picture to someone they don’t know
• Half of parents (50%) say that their children’s social media profiles are private – a slightly lower number of children agree (48%)
• 1 in 10 parents say that their child wakes to check their phone/iPad in the night however 1 in 4 children say that they actually do this
• Parents say that their child goes to bed at 21:31 but children say it is actually 21:52 – 20 minutes later
• Almost 1 in 10 children say that worrying about online bullying keeps them awake at night
• 1 in 4 say they feel pressure to stay up late so they don’t miss out on conversations happening online
• 1 in 10 are kept awake worrying about their appearance because of what they have seen online e.g. Instagram

Gender –

• Girls 11-16 are more likely to check their phones/iPads right before bed. 27% compared to only 15% of boys the same age
• Girls also go to bed later 22:04 for girls and 21:54 for boys
• Girls are also under more pressure – 25% stay awake later so they don’t miss out on conversations happening online compared to 15% of boys who do this
• They are also twice as likely as boys to stay awake worrying about online bullying (10% vs. 5%) and pressure to look good (11% vs. 6%)

Age – 15-16 year olds

• 30% of 15-16 year olds lie about their age online
• 1 in 3 15-16 year olds wake in the night to check their phones
• They also feel more pressure to stay up late so as not to miss out online – 27%
• Almost 1 in 4 lie to their parents about what they are doing online
• Over 1 in 4 say that checking their phone is the last thing they do before they go to sleep