The Pew Research Center surveys parents in the US to get information on technology use for children ages 0 to 11. Here are some of the recent findings:
Almost half of the children below the age of 2 regularly use a smartphone. The number is 62% for children ages 3-4, 59% for children ages 5-8, and 67% for children 9-11.
Seventeen percent of the children under 11 have their own smartphone.
Thirty-six percent of the children under 12 interact with voice activated assistants, mainly to listen to music and get information.
As much as 30% of the 9 to 11 year olds use social media.
Takeaways
- The age of target audiences is getting younger and younger.
- If you haven’t been asked to design for very young children, you may be asked before too long.
- When you design for young children, you have two target audiences—the young children and their parents—because the parents of very young children make the purchase/use decision initially. Make sure you’re designing for both.
- Test your designs with both children and their parents.