NortonLifeLock Study: Majority of Parents Say Their Kids' Screen Time Has Skyrocketed During the COVID-19 Pandemic
August 31 2020 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Parents Express Concerns About Cyber Safety
Risks As Children Spent 52% More Time A Day In Front Of Screens On
School Days1
NortonLifeLock (NASDAQ: NLOK), a global leader in consumer Cyber
Safety, released today findings from ‘Screens & Quarantine:
Digital Parenting in a Pandemic,’ a new study revealing how the
current pandemic has impacted children’s at-home screen time,
device access and parents’ concerns around Cyber Safety. The study
underscored that nearly 7 out of 10 parents (69%) said that their
child’s screen time has heightened during the pandemic, with around
3 in 5 feeling they have no choice but to allow it (60%) and that
they accept certain risks to their child’s online safety to keep
them entertained and occupied (57%).
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“This study shows parents like me are not alone in struggling to
find ways to keep our children safe and entertained during the
pandemic,” says Kevin Roundy, technical director, NortonLifeLock.
“With fewer social gatherings, schools adopting distance learning,
and many parents working from home, it comes as little surprise
that parents have had to shift their kids’ activities to digital
devices. However, all of this unsupervised time spent on devices
leads to an influx of Cyber Safety risks that parents should be
aware of, including device hacking, location tracking, and risk
from online predators.”
Conducted in partnership with The Harris Poll, more than 1,000
U.S. parents of children ages 5-17 were interviewed for the study,
revealing nearly half (49%) have had to abandon some, if not all,
of their previous rules for screen time. The study found children
are spending roughly 1.5 more hours in front of screens per day on
school days, excluding time spent for school purposes – a 52%
increase1 in screen time compared to prior to the outbreak.
Almost 7 in 10 parents (67%) indicated that their child’s
unsupervised screen time has increased due to the pandemic’s effect
on work and school. Among those who said their child’s screen time
has skyrocketed during the pandemic, prominent reasons include
keeping their child entertained and occupied (70%) and giving their
child a way to connect with friends and family (52%).
Additional findings from the NortonLifeLock Screens &
Quarantine: Digital Parenting in a Pandemic Study include:
- Nearly 2 in 3 parents (63%) have indicated that they have
lowered their standards for appropriate screen time because of the
pandemic. To note, more than half of parents (52%) said that
they were worried that they were not setting a good example because
they spend too much time on their own devices.
- Some parents are purchasing devices for their child because
of the pandemic. Around 3 in 10 parents have purchased a device
(tablet (33%), gaming console (31%), smartphone (30%) or laptop/PC
(26%) for their child during the pandemic.
- As screen time skyrockets and socialization moves online,
parents are inevitably concerned about their child being exposed to
cyberbullying (61%), especially those of middle school aged
children (11-13 years) (69%).
- Parents are also concerned about other aspects of their child’s
online safety including: online predators (67%); location tracking
(66%); online accounts being hacked (60%); and family’s devices
being infected by viruses (50%).
- Some parents are accepting the risks without realizing the
consequences. With 3 in 5 parents (60%) feeling they have no
choice but to allow their children to have more screen time, nearly
a third of parents (31%) don’t always read privacy policies when
downloading an app or service for their child.
- Nearly half of parents (48%) said they don’t always read
privacy policies because they have no choice but to accept them in
order for their child to use the app or service. In addition, 77%
say that they would be more willing to read them if they were given
choices about how their child’s personal information could or could
not be used. However, 65% of parents said there have been times
they’ve chosen not to download a certain app or allow their child
to use a specific service solely based on the privacy policy.
- Parents across the country face challenges when it comes to
juggling work and/or home responsibilities and caring for their
children.
- Parents appear to be searching for answers with nearly 7 in 10
wishing there was a better way to monitor their child’s screen time
(70%) and that they knew more about how to keep their child safe
online (69%).
- Most parents (60%) are concerned they don’t have enough time to
keep track of what their child is doing online, particularly
parents who are employed (64% vs. 49% of those who are not
employed). But, regardless of employment status, nearly 3 in 5
parents (58%) feel guilty about the amount of time their child
spends online.
- Parents who are employed (71%) are more likely than those who
are not (58%) to say unsupervised screen time has increased.
NortonLifeLock helps families to more safely explore our
connected world with products like Norton 360 and Norton Family,
and by providing education, tools and resources in concert with
National PTA and other organizations. For more information and
tips, please visit the NortonLifeLock blog at
www.nortonlifelock.com/blogs and www.nortonlifelock.com.
About the NortonLifeLock Screens & Quarantine: Digital
Parenting in a Pandemic Study
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The
Harris Poll on behalf of NortonLifeLock from August 4-7, 2020 among
1,002 parents of children ages 5-17. Results were weighted for age
within gender, region, race/ethnicity, household income, education,
and size of household where necessary to align them with their
actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting
was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be
online.
About NortonLifeLock
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NASDAQ: NLOK) is a global leader in
consumer Cyber Safety. NortonLifeLock is dedicated to helping
secure the devices, identities, online privacy, and home and family
needs of nearly 50 million consumers, providing them with a trusted
ally in a complex digital world. For more information, please visit
www.nortonlifelock.com.
1 2.9 hours before the pandemic vs 4.4 hours during.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200831005132/en/
Jenna Torluemke NortonLifeLock Inc. (415) 767-7800
Jenna.Torluemke@nortonlifelock.com
Christine Kim Edelman for NortonLifeLock (415) 712-3409
Christine.Kim@edelman.com
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