Internet overtaking TV for UK kids

The number of UK children with a TV in their bedroom is declining, while personal internet access is growing, according to the annual Childwise monitoring survey.

Childwise, a research company specialising in children and young people, found that the increase in internet access amongst young people was fuelled by the proliferation of smart phones. Just over 60% of seven to 16 year-olds have a mobile phone with internet access, the survey found.

The survey highlighted changing media habits amongst young people, with children increasingly playing with their mobile phones rather than watching television before school. After school, they are now more likely to use the internet than watch TV. They are also more likely to read via a screen than a book or magazine, the survey found.