{"id":139477,"date":"2022-02-24T05:00:27","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=139477"},"modified":"2022-02-28T18:45:24","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T02:45:24","slug":"a-look-beyond-their-lock-screens-the-mobile-activity-of-tweens-and-teens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/a-look-beyond-their-lock-screens-the-mobile-activity-of-tweens-and-teens\/","title":{"rendered":"A Look Beyond Their Lock Screens: The Mobile Activity of Tweens and Teens"},"content":{"rendered":"

While our tweens and tweens seem to grow into adults right before our eyes, their mobile usage matures into adulthood as well\u2014and in many ways, we don\u2019t see.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Girls and boys hit their mobile stride right about the same point in life, at age 15 where their mobile usage jumps significantly and reaches a level that they carry into adulthood, which is one of the several findings we uncovered in our global survey of parents, tweens, and teens this year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what are tweens and teens up to on their mobile devices as they mature? And where do their parents fit in? We asked parents and kids alike. What we found<\/a> gives us a look into the mobile lives of tweens and teens behind their lock screens.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobile is the Most Important Device\u2014Yet Far More So for Kids than Their Parents\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

For starters, parents and their kids alike say that their mobile device is the most important one in their life. Parents placed mobile in their top two with their mobile device or smartphone at 59% followed their computer or laptop at 42%. Tweens and teens put their mobile device or smartphone at the top of the list as well, yet at a decisive 74% worldwide, followed by their gaming console at 68%.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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“Parents and their kids alike say that their mobile device is the most important thing in their life.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Further, tweens and teens place a higher value on their smartphones to keep them connected with friends and family. Some 59% of parents said mobile was essential in this role, whereas tweens and teens put that figure at 64%. For parents, the runner-up device for keeping connected was the computer or laptop at 42%.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet quite interestingly<\/a>, tweens and teens said their second-most important device for keeping connected with others is their gaming console, at 40%, perhaps indicating gaming\u2019s role in creating and fostering friendships today. Of course, plenty of that gaming is happening on mobile as well, with half of all tweens and teens surveyed worldwide saying that they play games on their smartphones.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s No Secret\u2014Kids Will Cover Their Tracks Online. But How?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Broadly speaking, the activities kids do on their phones match up closely with what their parents think they\u2019re doing on their phones. Yet there\u2019s a fair share of secretive activity that happens within that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding general activity, parents and their tween- and teen-aged children worldwide see eye to eye when it comes to what parents think are their kids\u2019 favorite activities on mobile are and what kids say they actually are:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n