91 percent of children use the internet

In Türkiye, internet usage among children has been determined to be 91.3% this year, with this rate recorded as 92.2% for boys and 90.3% for girls. The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced the results of the "2024 Research on the Use of Information Technologies by Children."

The research was conducted independently for the first time this year, having previously been a sub-module of the Household Information Technologies Usage Research in 2013 and 2021. The term "children" refers to those aged 6-15 unless a specific age is indicated. The expression "regular usage" for information technologies corresponds to using them several times a day, once a day, or at least once a week.

According to the research, internet usage among children was 82.7% in 2021 and increased to 91.3% in 2024. When examined by gender, it was found that 92.2% of boys and 90.3% of girls use the internet. These rates were 83.9% and 81.5% respectively in 2021.

It was recorded that 97.4% of children use the internet regularly. This rate was 98.6% in 2021.

Some use it for lessons, while others use it for gaming. Among regular internet users, 42.9% spent about two hours or more online on weekdays, while 53.6% did so on weekends.

When the usage of those spending about two hours or more online daily was examined by age groups, the usage rate was found to be 30.6% for the 6-10 age group and 54.4% for the 11-15 age group on weekdays. On weekends, these rates were calculated as 43.2% and 63.5%, respectively.

Children primarily watch videos online. The most common activities conducted by regular internet users were video watching at 83.9%, homework, learning, or participating in online classes at 75%, and playing or downloading games at 72.7%. Children used the internet for sending or receiving emails the least, at 13.2%.

The rate of children using social media was determined to be 66.1% this year. It was found that 68.1% of boys and 64% of girls use social media. When examining social media usage by age groups, the rate was 53.5% for the 6-10 age group and 79% for the 11-15 age group.

According to the research, 97.9% of children regularly use social media. Among these children, the rate of those spending about two hours or more on social media platforms was recorded as 37.1% on weekdays and 49.5% on weekends.

The rate of children aged 11-15 spending about two hours or more on social media was about 20 percentage points higher than that of the 6-10 age group.

76.1% of children use mobile phones or smartphones. The most used social media platform among children was YouTube at 96.3%. This was followed by Instagram at 41.5%, TikTok at 26.2%, Snapchat at 21.4%, Pinterest at 13.6%, Facebook at 9.5%, and X at 4.9%.

When examining the usage of social media platforms by age groups, YouTube was the most used application in both age groups. The second place was taken by TikTok in the 6-10 age group at 11.7% and by Instagram in the 11-15 age group at 63%.

The rate of children reporting they use mobile phones or smartphones was determined to be 76.1%. Accordingly, 66.3% of children in the 6-10 age group and 86.2% of children in the 11-15 age group reported using mobile phones or smartphones.

The rate of children stating they regularly use mobile phones or smartphones was recorded at 98.2%. Among these children, the highest usage purposes were browsing the internet at 77.9%, making video or audio calls at 77.3%, watching movies, series, TV broadcasts, or videos at 75%, and using social media at 73.6%.

32.6% of children check their phones every half hour. Among regular mobile phone or smartphone users, 32.6% reported checking their devices at least every 30 minutes. This rate was 33.9% for boys and 31.2% for girls. The rate of children aged 6-10 who reported checking their phones every half hour was 19.6%, while the rate for those aged 11-15 was 42.8%.

The rate of children who regularly use these devices and reported that the last thing they do before sleeping and the first thing they do upon waking is check their phones, and those who use their phones while watching TV or eating with others, was 3.4%, while the rate of those performing at least one of these behaviors was 58.6%. The rate of children who performed at least one of these behaviors in 2021 was 52.4%.

63.8% of children reported that they have exclusive access to at least one technological product (desktop computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, or smart watch). This rate was found to be 66.9% for boys and 60.5% for girls. When examining children who have a technological product for their exclusive use by age groups, the most significant difference was seen in children using mobile phones or smartphones.

It was determined that 43.9% of children have mobile phones or smartphones for their exclusive use, 35.7% have computers, and 14.3% have smart watches. These rates in 2021 were recorded as 39%, 46.3%, and 3.9%, respectively.