Children between the ages of 8 to 14 years old are performing a variety of tasks online such as shopping and helping their parents navigate the Internet, according to a study from Stars for Kidz, “Surfin on Mom’s Turf”.
The reason kids are being asked to help their parents online is that almost half of them (47%) are “clueless” when it comes to the Internet. Around one -third (29%) of children said they needed to help their mom’s online because they did not have enough time.
The majority of the kids polled believe they had a positive affect on family activities by helping their moms with online chores.
The top five online chores for 8-14 year olds:
— 38% share pictures & emails with relatives
— 38% get movie listings
— 36% invitations & party planning stuff
— 36% plan vacations/travel
–35% get driving directions
The good news for online marketers is that kids are consumers with 77 percent saying they have completed an online transaction such as shopping at Internet retailers.
While 26 percent of kids say they are online an average of three or more hours daily, 46 percent say their parents control how much time they spend online.
Adele Schwartz, Ed.D. Research Director at Stars for Kidz said, “One-quarter of the kids we surveyed admitted they have been ‘busted’ for doing something wrong on the Internet,
and still one- fifth (20%) of 8-14 year olds have their own email account that they are able to keep secret from their parents.”
