‘Flemish children are given a smartphone from the age of two’

Flemish children get their hands on a smartphone or tablet for the first time at the age of two years and four months. This is the conclusion of a study by the Flemish knowledge center Mediawijs. Only eight percent of Flemish children do not use a screen.

Mediawijs, the Flemish Knowledge Center for Digital and Media Literacy, surveyed 708 Flemish parents about their children’s screen use. Nearly nine out of ten parents who took part in the survey were women, the researchers say, because mothers are said to be still more involved in their children’s media education compared to fathers.

According to the researchers, the very first screen that young Flemish children come into contact with is the television set, followed by the tablet. According to Mediawijs, this tablet is ‘sometimes used’ by 91 percent of five to seven-year-old Flemish children. The smartphone is also popular: about half of all Flemish children under the age of five are already allowed to hold this device. From the age of eight to thirteen, smartphone use rises significantly to 72 percent. From the age of fourteen, 89 percent of children use a smartphone.

The research shows that Flemish parents are also concerned about their children’s screen use. They usually ask themselves whether their child is not looking at screens too much and how much screen time they should get. That screen time is currently an average of two hours a day on weekdays and can rise to four hours a day on weekends. During this screen time, Flemish children watch videos, listen to music or play games. From the age of nine, social media apps such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and TikTok also become more popular with Flemish children.