Devices used by children in the UK to go online by age 2021

According to a survey of parents and children in the United Kingdom (UK) conducted between October and December 2021, 98 percent of children between 16 and 17 years old were using their mobile phones to go online, while only 23 percent of respondents from this age group were using desktop computers for the same purpose. The survey found that tablets were the most popular devices used to navigate the web among children between five and seven years old.

Devices used to go online by children in the United Kingdom (UK) as of December 2021, by age group

Characteristic	3-4	5-7	8-11	12-15	16-17
Laptop/netbook	10%	27%	55%	63%	63%
Mobile phone	39%	50%	71%	94%	98%
Tablet	78%	83%	79%	54%	50%
Desktop computer	3%	9%	17%	28%	23%
Other type of device	3%	4%	4%	2%	1%

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Release date

March 2022

More information

Region

United Kingdom

Survey time period

October 21 to Decmber 7, 2021

Number of respondents

2,444 respondents

Age group

3-17 years

Special properties

parents of 3-17 year olds

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

The original question was formed as follows: "Please think about any reason your child may have for going online – maybe to look at a website or use an app, watch a TV programme or video clip on sites or apps like YouTube, to play games online, for social media, or to do school or homework. Does your child use any of these to go online at home or somewhere else ? (multi coded)"

Base: Parents of children aged 3-17 (326 aged 3-4, 489 aged 5-7, 652 aged 8-11, 652 aged 12-15, 326 aged 16-17).

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