This report presents the findings from the fourth wave of Common Sense Media’s ongoing series of surveys about the media lives of young children in the United States. The series began nearly a decade ago in 2011; a total of more than 5,700 respondents have been surveyed over this period.

As far as we are aware, this is the only nationally-representative, probability-based study tracking the use of media by children from birth through age eight in the United States. We do this study because of our conviction that media and technology are absolutely central to children’s lives.

Today there are more platforms for educational media content than ever before. There are scores of cable channels, hundreds of computer games, thousands of apps, and millions of websites. One question that has never been answered before is: how much of this content is educational? This study concerns media used in the home. It is the first study we know of to attempt to quantify, on a national level, how much of children’s media time is devoted to educational content, platform by platform, age by age. It also provides a measure of parents’ experiences with the educational media their children use.

Parenting in the Age of Digital Technology is a survey of 2,300 parents of children aged 8 or under, conducted by VJR Consulting for Northwestern University's Center on Media and Human Development.  The New York Times article on the study calls Vicky Rideout "an independent researcher who over the last decade has done pioneering research into patterns of technology use." ABC News also covered the study in a piece called Toddlers and Tablets: Way of the Future?

Even a casual observer of children and families today knows big changes are afoot when it comes to children and new media technologies. This report, based on the results of a large-scale, nationally representative survey, documents for the first time exactly how big those changes are.

We surveyed more than 1,400 parents to document the amount of time children spend engaged in various media activities, as well as their access to and use of media devices.  The survey is the third in a series of tracking studies measuring changes over time.  Media activities include watching TV and online videos, playing video games, listening to music, reading, and other digital activities.  Devices include television, smartphones, tablets, computers, e-books, and video game players - and we even look at the newest trends such as Virtual Reality, virtual assistants (think Siri or Alexa), and the "internet of toys." 

October 2011: Having an accurate understanding of the role of media in children’s lives is essential for all of those concerned about promoting healthy child development: parents, educators, pediatricians, public health advocates, and policymakers, to name just a few. The purpose of this study is to provide publicly accessible, reliable data about media use among children ages 0 to 8, to help inform the efforts of all of those who are working to improve children’s lives.

December 2010, Common Sense Media
Most kids today live their lives online, immersed in a mobile and digital landscape. This brave new world has revolutionized childhood. Kids and teens now create and consume enormous amounts of online and mobile content. Their access to people and information presents both possibilities and problems. While the Internet is a platform for innovation and economic growth and brings rich resources for entertainment and learning, the very nature of digital interaction creates deep concerns about kids’ privacy.

Today, our kids are growing up in public. Whatever they text or post can be searched, copied, pasted, distributed, collected, and viewed by vast invisible audiences. Parents rightly fear that their children’s activities and personal information are being tracked and traced.