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Google Survey Finds Majority Of Parents Letting Their Kids Have More Screen Time

Google Survey Finds Majority Of Parents Letting Their Kids Have More Screen Time

The survey also found that 70% of parents allowed increased screen time for kids during the pandemic with 3 in 4 children spending an average of 1 to 6 hours online per day.

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Parenting in today’s world has become far more different than the kind of parenting most of us grew up with.

Children and teens today are also coming online more than ever before due to the advancements of technology as well as the after effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which forced us to move online.

Many also own devices at younger ages.

During a media roundtable held yesterday (March 30), Head of Communications at Google Malaysia Nadia Khan shared that Malaysia has seen a steady increase in online screen time among children.

Unsurprisingly, more than 70% of parents allowed increased screen time for kids during the pandemic with 3 in 4 children spending an average of 1 to 6 hours online per day. And they’re turning to technology for daily activities from remote learning, reading a book, and learning a new language.

Head of Communications at Google Malaysia Nadia Khan

On top of that, Nadia said that children are also being exposed to screens at younger ages.

A recent Kids and Families survey conducted by Google Malaysia found that children as young as 10 years old in Malaysia are going online.

Finding that balance of online and offline, setting boundaries, and having those conversations are critical for creating a healthy and safer experience online. As a fellow parent, I know that this can feel daunting, but as they say, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ – and that’s the same for a child’s online journey.

Head of Communications at Google Malaysia Nadia Khan

In August last year, Google published its “Kids & Families Safety” survey which was conducted all over Asia-Pacific (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan) from 16 to 26 February last year with a sample size of 4,500 parents with children between 5 and 17 years old.

Some findings include top concerns from Malaysian parents on issues such as privacy and security; inappropriate content and understanding real or fake.

The survey added that as technology rapidly evolves, 72% of parents have proactively looked for information about online safety, an encouraging sign of the priority that parents are placing on online safety.

However, it also found that 30% of parents did not feel that their child was well informed about online safety issues.

This three year gap could be why kids aren’t as informed as they could be, particularly at an age when they are most vulnerable to pitfalls and hard-to-break habits. When it comes to kids and families using our platforms, we know keeping them safe is a priority. That’s why we’ve invested in building experiences that align with kids’ and teens’ developmental stages and needs.

Head of Communications at Google Malaysia Nadia Khan

According to Nadia, YouTube Kids comes with a full suite of parental controls such as parent-approved content which allows parents to handpick and curate every video and channel available to their child in the app.

There’s also a built-in timer to help limit screen time by telling kids when it’s time to stop watching.

We also offer tools that give families the power to manage their relationship with technology, such as Family Link, which allows parents to set digital ground rules to guide their children as they learn, play, and explore online while making the right screentime choices for them.

Head of Communications at Google Malaysia Nadia Khan

Nadia added that it is critical that parents have conversations about online safety and teach them digital literacy to help protect them against things such as cyberbullying and scams or hacks.

To help with this, we have Be Internet Awesome which is a programme to help teachers and parents teach their kids digital safety. It’s now available in more than 30 countries and in various languages including Bahasa Melayu.

Head of Communications at Google Malaysia Nadia Khan

Be Internet Awesome features an interactive game called Interland that helps kids learn about online safety in a fun and engaging way and has helped millions of kids in areas like being civil online, understanding which websites are safe and responding more confidently to cyberbullying.


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