School Survey: parents concerned about young children’s smartphone use – screen time is now being restricted at an accelerating rate

The School Survey showed that young children's screen time is now more restricted that ever. This year, 56 percent of parents of children aged 5 to 12 report utilizing phone features or apps designed for screen time limitations, compared to 46 percent last year. Also, the number of parents who limit their children’s phone use increased by four percentage points on last year, with 82 per cent of parents of children aged 5–12 now saying that they impose restrictions. In contrast, the number of children who want to limit their own phone use fell by six percentage points to 39.

“This decline in children's own desire to limit their smartphone use may be explained by the fact that parents are now increasingly doing it for them. Many adults have also noted the harmful effects of excessive smartphone use on their own lives, so it's only natural for them to want to protect their children. It's encouraging that, according to the survey, almost three quarters of families with 5–12-year-olds regularly spend time together without smart devices,” says Jesse Kieksi, Head of Devices at DNA.

The survey found that the majority of children aged 5–12 use their phone for either 1–2 hours (39%) or 2–4 hours (36%) per day, but the number of children using their phone for 4–6 hours has been increasing over the past three years. Around a tenth of younger children spend more than four but less than six hours a day on a phone. According to the School Survey, almost 80 per cent of parents with children aged 5–12 think that digital content is too addictive for their children.

Smartwatches help postpone the purchase of a child’s first smartphone

Parents are looking for tips on how to reduce screen time and gaming, and how to manage excessive screen time. If you want a device to keep in touch with your child, a smartwatch is a good option. More and more parents are buying smartwatches as their child’s first phone. Of those who responded to the School Survey, 16 per cent of parents with children aged 5–12 said they had bought their child a smartwatch as their first phone – last year, this figure was 9 per cent. The popularity of smartwatches as first phones has been rising for several years, but the greatest increase has been seen over the past year. Preventing excessive phone use and blocking inappropriate content are the main reasons why parents choose a w smartwatch instead of a smartphone for their child.

“If you want your child to have their own device for contact purposes, then a smartwatch is a good option. It’s also a way of postponing the purchase of your child's first smartphone. The growing popularity of smartwatches has definitely been influenced by public debate on the amount of time children spend on smart devices. And their popularity has been boosted by increased availability and more choice. Children may also ask about smartwatches themselves after seeing their friends’ phones. Who wouldn't get excited about having a secret agent smartwatch?” says Kieksi, laughing.

Parents have purchased phones for their children in order to give them more independence, for example, when they start travelling to and from school alone. The phone makes everyone feel safer, as it enables communication between children and their parents. A smartwatch allows children to stay in touch and practice independence, but discourages young children from using the internet on their own. DNA does not recommend the independent use of smart devices for the youngest schoolchildren or children under school age.

Tips for choosing a smartwatch

A key feature of children's smartwatch is that they have no internet access. Parents can use an app on their own smartphone to set up the contacts that a child can call or message using their watch phone. Parents can also monitor their child's location and set a safety zone within which children can move about. Parents can receive location-based alerts when, for example, their child arrives home or leaves a predefined route.

Although smartwatches have fairly limited functionality, there are small differences between models. Some functionalities may only work between watch phones of the same brand. It's a good idea to check this if your child already has friends who use a watch phone. For example, calls and text messages work between different brands, but photos can only be sent between devices of the same brand.

"It’s important to note that simply attaching a smartwatch to your child's wrist is not enough. It’s important for parents to invest time in thoroughly introducing their child to the smartwatch and its main functions and practising together. The same will be true in a few years’ time, when they move on to a smartphone,” says Kieksi.

"It's a good idea to try on smartwatches in a store before you buy, to make sure that you find a model that fits your child's wrist. Children currently use a smartwatch for an average of 2–3 years before moving on to a basic phone or smartphone. Today's watch phones are very durable, so it's easy to pass one on to a younger sibling,” says Kieksi.

DNA’s School Survey is conducted annually with Nepa Insight. It focuses on factors related to the use and purchase of phones for school-aged children and young people. The survey has been running since 2011. Approximately 1,000 parents of children aged between 5 and 16 years answered the School Survey via an online panel between 22 January and 11 February 2025. The survey can be found here (in Finnish).

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