How much time do young Quebecers spend on electronic devices?

The CEFRIO survey NETendances 2019 - The digital family contains the most recent data on the presence of 6 to 17 year olds in Quebec on the Internet and on the use they make of the electronic devices available to them. It also includes data on parenting support. 

According to this study:

“We observe that the use of electronic devices is more important among young people aged 13 to 17, while they are in high school, compared to the youngest in elementary school, aged 6 to 12 years. This is especially the case for the smart phone used by 49 % of elementary school children, compared to 75 % of secondary school children.

Listening to videos - on YouTube for example - is the activity most practiced on the Internet by young people. According to their parents, 86 % of 6 to 17 year olds practice this activity. The other activities carried out by more than half of young people in this age group are using the Internet at school (69 %); online games (60 %); visiting educational websites (59 %); watching series or films on the Internet (58 %); visiting entertainment websites (55 %); as well as listening to or downloading music on the Internet (52 %). With the exception of visiting educational websites, adolescents (13-17 years old) are more likely to practice each of these activities. "

Interestingly, the study presents data concerning parental control, and confirms that 88 % of Quebec parents of children aged 6 to 17 have rules at home to regulate their time spent on the Internet. The choice of sites visited is also reviewed by parents. This supervision increases by 6 % for parents of children aged 6 to 12 (94 %).

Regarding the time spent in front of a screen, “just over two-thirds of young people aged 6 to 17, or 70 % of them, spend 10 hours or less per week on electronic devices, surfing the Internet. , while 26 % spend 11 hours or more there. Among the youngest aged 6 to 12, 78 % spend an average of 10 hours or less per week on the Internet, compared to 56 % of high school youth aged 13 to 17, which represents a significant difference. by 22 percentage points. "

In 2019, 57% of young people aged 6 to 17 have either an email address or a personal profile page on a social network. In terms of social media presence, 39 % of them already have their own profile page on Facebook, Instagram or other. Young people aged 13 to 17 are more likely (82 %) than those aged 6 to 12 (42 %) to have an Internet presence by one of these means. 

For all the data from the CEFRIO study, go to on the site to download publication in PDF format.