The study will look at family usage of and parental/carer attitudes towards digital devices for this group of young children.

The project is led by researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University in collaboration with Queen’s University, Lancaster University, Swansea University, and the University of Strathclyde. It is one of the most in-depth studies to date across the UK exploring, in diverse family homes, the everyday usage of digital technologies by families and young children and how this influences young children’s language development and interactions.

Professor Karen Winter, from the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s said: “The survey represents an important opportunity to collate parental/carer attitudes and family practices regarding digital devices in a rapidly developing and hugely significant area of children’s daily lived experience.”

Dr Katrina McLaughlin, from the School of Psychology at Queen’s added: “This is an under researched group of children and we are interested in parental experiences and views from a range of social economic and cultural backgrounds.”

Data shows that the digital and online activity of children aged 3-15 grows each year, but comparatively little is known about how the very youngest use technology.

The researchers are asking parents and guardians of children aged 0-3 years old to complete the survey, available in 12 different languages and accessed online through a QR code, which will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. The survey is opened until the end of January 2023.

This two-year research project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

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