Parents estimate that almost half of the children want to limit their time on their phones

In an annual School Survey carried out by DNA, parents evaluated the phone use of their children aged 5–16. Half of parents with children aged 5–12 years estimate that the time appropriate for a primary school-aged child should be at maximum 1–2 hours on weekdays, while 16% consider less than one hour on the phone to be appropriate, and a quarter of the respondents feel that 2–4 hours would be appropriate.

“However, the actual hours of phone use as estimated by the parents are longer than the time that they feel is appropriate. According to the School Survey, 37% of children aged 5–12 years use their phone 1–2 hours on weekdays, although up to half of the parents estimate that a maximum time of 1–2 hours would be appropriate. Of primary school-aged children, 40% use their phone 2–4 hours a day, even if only a quarter of parents consider this an appropriate time for phone use,” says Sami Aavikko, CEO of DNA Store.

However, 45% of all children and adolescents want to limit their time on the phone themselves. In the age group of 5–12-year-olds, the number of those who want to limit their phone time is 8 percentage points higher than last year, and in the age group of 13–16-year-olds, the number has increased by 9 percentage points.

“It’s great that children and young people have become more active in wanting to limit their time on the phone. The role of an adult is to encourage and support the child in this goal. At the same time, adults should look at their children’s screen time on a broader scale, as it may be more hours than the time they spend on their phones. Overall, screen time also includes time spent looking at the TV, computer, tablet and other smart devices and gaming consoles,” says Aavikko. 

Approximately one in ten young people use their phone for more than six hours every weekday

In the age group of older children, the appropriate time on the phone is considered to be less than four hours per day. Parents estimate that 45% of 13–16-year-olds spend 2–4 hours on their phone on weekdays, which is 15% more than last year. Approximately one fifth (23%) use their phone 4–6 hours a day, and 12% use it more than six hours a day.

In fact, parents think that one of the risks of children using phones is spending too much time on the phone. About one-third of parents of children and adolescents have faced this challenge with their child’s phone use. Regarding other negative phenomena related to smart phones, parents of children aged 5–12 years are most concerned about loss of the phone, as well as harmful content or contacts related to intoxicants, sex or violence, while parents of children aged 13–16 worry about the negative effects on their child’s sleep quality and health resulting from phone use.

Children use their phones actively for things such as schoolwork and studying, hobbies, as well as video and image editing. They also use social media apps to connect with their friends.

“Children and young people are mostly smart phone users, and the example of their parents and the common rules for using smart devices within the family play a key role in this. Most families spend time together on a regular basis without smart devices. This habit is followed by 70% of families with children aged 5–12 years, and more than half of families with adolescents also say they regularly spend time as a family without smart devices,” Aavikko says.

DNA’s School Survey conducted together with Nepa Insight focuses on factors involved with phone use and phone purchases of school-aged children and young people. The survey has been carried out annually for over a decade. There were approximately 1,000 parents of children aged 5–16 years who responded to DNA’s 2024 School Survey on the online panel. Read more on the DNA School Survey here (in Finnish only).

Media enquiries:

DNA Corporate Communications, tel. +358 (0)44 044 8000, communications@dna.fi

Sami Aavikko, CEO, DNA Store Ltd, tel. +358 (0)44 044 3069, sami.aavikko@dna.fi

DNA Store is Finland’s most extensive retailer of mobile phones, other mobile devices and mobile subscriptions, with a chain of approximately 60 outlets. DNA Store’s offering also includes TV and broadband services and related devices. The chain is part of the DNA Group, whose total revenues were EUR 1,067 million in 2023. DNA has approximately 3.7 million subscriptions in its fixed and mobile communications networks. For more information, visit www.dna.fi or follow us on X @DNA_fi and on Facebook.