With social distancing in full effect during the pandemic, kids turned to their mobile devices to interact with friends and family. MLN Research talked to 7-10 year-old kids and their parents to learn how kids have been socializing on their devices:
Most kids use FaceTime or make video calls; they also use video games and app games to socialize.
Many kids use messaging apps to talk to friends and family.
Fewer kids text their friends and family or use social media to interact with friends and family.
Often, parents have been the ones encouraging and facilitating digital social interaction as they looked for ways to solve for the lack of physical social interaction during the pandemic, coordinating FaceTime play dates with other parents or helping kids send video messages to friends and family.
Other times, parental support has come in the form of loosening restrictions on screen time:
“We’ve been more lenient about screen time for sure. My kids didn’t play Fortnite at all before this year. While I don’t love it, one plus is definitely that they can play with friends and talk to them. When we were in full lockdown mode it was really the only socialization they got.”
Many parents have created an exception to their social media policies in order for their kids to use messaging services:
“We allow our children to use Facebook but only for Facebook Messenger Kids. This allows them to interact with their friends since they are attending virtual school. Otherwise, they may not get to interact with her friends much at all.” Facebook Messenger Kids is the top platform that kids use to send messages to their friends and family.
Some parents have indicated that their kids’ digital social activity is only temporary and have already reduced the amount of their kids’ screen time as the pains of the pandemic are starting to ease. However, others have seen the benefits of their kids connecting online, which begs the question: Is the prevalence of digital socializing among kids here to stay?