National Mental Health Center analyzes responses from parents of 400 children aged 2 to 5

[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

A new survey shows that many children begin using smartphones shortly after their first birthday.

According to MIND, a mental health research bulletin published by the Mental Health Research Institute of the National Mental Health Center, a survey of parents of 400 children aged 2 to 5 found that 37.18 percent of respondents said their child first used a smartphone between 12 and 23 months of age — the most common response.

That was followed by 24 to 35 months at 26.66 percent, zero to 11 months at 13.80 percent, 48 to 59 months at 12.96 percent, and 36 to 47 months at 12.39 percent.

Combined, children who began using smartphones before age 2 — those in the zero-to-11-month and 12-to-23-month groups — accounted for 50.98 percent of the total, just over half.

On weekdays, 56.78 percent of children used smartphones for less than an hour, 32.74 percent did not use them at all, and 9.46 percent used them for one to three hours.

Weekend usage patterns were similar in the under-one-hour category, at 54.87 percent, but the share of children using smartphones for one to three hours rose sharply to 22.58 percent. Those who did not use smartphones at all on weekends stood at 21.28 percent.

Experts broadly agree that smartphone use among infants and toddlers should be avoided as much as possible.

In guidelines issued in 2019, WHO recommended that children under 2 avoid all screen exposure — including television and smartphones — while children aged 2 to 4 should be limited to no more than one hour per day.


thlee@heraldcorp.com