Engl. transl.: Kids & Media 2019

For a majority of young people in Sweden - and for many parents - digital media are now fully integrated in their everyday lives. Both traditional and new media are self-evident sources of information and entertainment, as well as tools for maintaining social contacts. Who could have imagined only a few decades ago that we now carry with us almost all the information in the world in our pockets and can access it wherever and whenever we want to? "Using the internet" is no longer about hurrying home from school to be able to sit down at your desk and turn on the computer. The difference between being on-line or off-line is almost non-existent. With the correct setting in your mobile phone, you are on-line around the clock. When the first “Kids & Media” survey was carried out in 2005, the average age for starting to use the internet was nine. Today, most children have been on the internet by the time they are 3. As recently as 2010, only 7 % of 16 year-olds used their mobile phone to connect to the internet. The figure is now 96 %. Mobile internet use is still increasing, but the mobile internet explosion took place in 2010–2012. In this year's survey it is the possession of technology that is behind the dramatic changes. Smartphones have almost entirely replaced traditional mobile phones, and children's ownership of tablets has multiplied many times since 2012/13. Tablets enable younger and younger children to use digital media. The proportion of under two’s who play digital games has almost quadrupled in two years: from 7 % in 2012/13 to 26 % in 2014. But not everything is new. Television is still the most popular form of media for children until they reach their teens. Then internet-related activities gain the upper hand. The Kids & Media survey has now been carried out for the sixth time since 2005. The report is the result of the largest national survey of media habits and attitudes to media among children between 0 and 18 years old. It is published in three separate reports: “Little kids & Media 2015” on children 0-8 years, “Kids & Media 2015” on children and young people 9–18, and “Parents & Media 2015”, in which parents or legal guardians of children 9–18 give their opinions about children's media habits and experiences. The aim is to provide a knowledge bank and source of facts that is easily accessible for parents, teachers and others who work with, or have an interest in, children and young people and their media life. The reports are available for download at www.statensmedierad.se/ungarochmedier. (https://www.statensmedierad.se/download/18.1ecdaa0017633a0d666741a/1607605410727/Kids-and-media-2015.pdf)