Every child in the United States wants a smartphone. And almost half of them have one, according to their parents.
Our new survey shows that a smartphone is typically the primary device of children under the age of 18. Around one-third of kids use tablets primarily, and one in 10 use a laptop.
This data is part of what we found in an extensive tech-parenting survey conducted from May 20 to 23, 2022. The 1,079 survey respondents were all adults over age 18, and they had to be parents of one or more children under the age of 18.
Though smartphones are pegged as the primary device, children generally use more than one product. When we asked which of the following children use and let people click more than one option, the numbers shot up for each device type, but the order stayed the same: smartphones, tablets, and laptops are used most, in that order. Only desktop PCs and gaming consoles with web browsers switched places from chart to chart.
We dove more deeply, asking parents which devices their kids either own themselves or share with others in the household. Although the numbers are high for owning their own smartphone (82%), tablet (80%), and laptop (71%), plenty of them also have their own desktop PC (68%) and game console (67%). The latter two just don’t get as much use, perhaps because when it comes to sharing, desktops are the most-shared device, at 32%. Laptops are second at 29%. (Roll over the donut charts below for details.)
When it comes to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), we wanted to know how using tech products helps kids to learn. Parents were bullish on this: 80% said using tech products was extremely influential or somewhat influential. For science specifically, that number was 75%; math was 74%, and engineering was 70%. Only 2% of naysayers per each arm of STEM said using tech was not at all influential.
But now we come to the nitty-gritty question: Which devices do parents want to buy for kids to help them with STEM skills? The numbers don’t line up with what they say kids are using. More than half of our respondents said they’d buy their child a laptop or a tablet; only 37% chose a smartphone. Some kind of technology-based toy was the fourth most popular choice at 30%, beating out desktop PCs at 28%.
The desktop PC is in a weird position as one of the most used but least desired product for a child’s STEM curriculum. Smartphones are coveted by the young, but parents seem wary about buying them (though not wary enough to take the small screens away when kids already own them!). The laptop—the core of many at-home-schooling sessions—seems to be the sweet spot.