New Data: Many Parents Unaware of the Apps Kids Are Using

Aura Releases New 2024 State of the Youth Report

Staying off of social media is simply not realistic for most kids these days. In fact, last year Aura found that approximately 35% of parents mentioned their kids starting to use social media before age seven [*].

In light of this trend, we set out to understand what children and parents view as safe internet usage. Aura, in partnership with Gallup, conducted a comprehensive survey with 5,926 parents of children aged 8 through 18.

The survey aimed to uncover how the internet affects a child's wellbeing, their privacy and independence, and how far parents can help steer their children online — safely. 

• While 46% of parents feel highly confident about what apps their children use, Aura’s own data says otherwise.
• Responses were mixed when parents were asked about their child’s overall wellbeing and device usage. 21% percent believe it has a positive effect, 24% see a negative effect, and 54% think it has both positive and negative effects.

More findings from the survey and exact methodology are available for download on the full report: State of the Youth Report 2024 (PDF).

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Parents of younger kids: more safety-wary, app-aware

• 24% of parents are extremely concerned about their child’s online safety. 26% are very concerned, and 36% are moderately concerned.
• The level of concern tends to be higher for younger children, with parents of elementary school-aged children (ages 8 to 11) flourishing the highest levels of confidence in knowing what apps their children download and use.
• 60% of these parents are highly confident, compared to 46% of middle school parents and just 24% of high school parents.

Parents confident about app usage discuss online safety more

• A significant 46% of parents feel highly confident about what apps their children use, while 38% are moderately confident. However, 11% are not very confident, and 3% are not confident at all. 
• Interestingly, parents who are highly confident in their knowledge about their children's app usage report having more frequent discussions about online safety. 37% saying they do so at least a few times a month.

Nearly a third of parents want more online safety guides for kids

• 40% of parents say they make a great deal of effort to model safe and appropriate use of electronic devices, and 48% make a fair amount of effort.
• These efforts appear to be helpful, with 36% of parents observing that their actions have a positive impact on their children’s usage of electronic devices. 54% say their efforts help a little.

Parents who feel confident about their children's app usage also believe they have enough online resources. And when weighing potential resources, parents showed a strong preference for tools that allow them to track their children’s app and internet activity.

• 88% found such tools extremely, very, or moderately helpful.
• Other valued resources include news articles (71%), expert columns or blogs (70%), workshops or advice on digital parenting (67%), and online forums for parents (61%).

📚 Related: How To Protect Your Child From Identity Theft in 2024 →

Parent-Reported Trends Didn’t Always Match Actual Child Behavior

To see how these perceived behavioral trends from the Gallup study tallied with Aura user data, we analyzed over 31,000 devices with Aura and Circle Parental Controls activated.

The Gallup datasets reflect the U.S. population, while Aura's data is limited to its existing subscribers. We acknowledge these findings may not be directly comparable.

Aura's data suggests that children are using different apps than their parents think they are. Most notably, children across all age groups — 9–11, 12–14, and 15–17 — use Snapchat with far greater frequency.

• As a child grows from the youngest age group (0–2 years) to the oldest (18–20 years), their screen time nearly tripled.
• On average, children spend the most time on screens from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM. 4:00 AM is the least active time of day for screen use, while 4:00 PM is the most active.

Bridging This Gap With Parental Controls

While app-level parental controls are a great start, Aura can help you with universal content filters and screen time limits. Parents using Aura to set app time limits report a median daily screen time of 326 minutes for their children, compared to 464 minutes without limits.

With Aura’s parental controls, you can:

• Customize what children view online: Easily select apps, games, and websites to limit or restrict altogether. Aura’s parental controls work with Apple iPhones and iPads (iOS 13 or later) as well as Android mobile devices (Android 9.0 or later).
• Set time limits for apps and websites: Create different limits for apps, categories of websites, and a daily time limit for every child in your household.
• Stop in-app messages: If apps like Snapchat or Instagram are blocked using Aura’s content filters, no messages will be sent or received from these apps.

On June 4, 2024 Aura also announced a free online forum — Digital Parenthood — for parents to connect with peers and experts on the safe use of technology. The community features resources and advice from third-party experts like Boston Children’s Hospital to provide a virtual parent support group.

Methodology

All respondents are members of Gallup’s probability-based panel. The survey was conducted from May 1–14, 2024. 

The results are weighted to match the demographics of American parents with children ages 8 to 18 from the American Community Survey. The margin of sampling error for the total sample of parents, including the design effect from weighting, is ±2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

For the complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, and subgroup sample sizes, please contact media@aura.com.