Brazil has 24.3 Million Children and Adolescents Using the Internet

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Approximately 24.3 million children and adolescents between the ages of 9 and 17 are Internet users in Brazil, corresponding to approximately 86 percent of the total number of people in the nation in this age group.

The information is included in the 2018 ICT Kids Online Brazil survey, published yesterday, September 17th, by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br), through the Regional Center of Studies for the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Information and Coordination Center of the Ponto BR (NIC.br).

The survey also pointed out that last year, 3.8 million children and adolescents did not have access to the Internet due to lack of access to the network at home (eight percent) or the impossibility of using the Internet at school (five percent). According to Fabio Senne, research project coordinator at Cetic.br, the North and Northeast regions have the lowest levels of Internet use in the country (75 percent), while the South Region (95 percent) is the place where children and adolescents are the most connected.

Multimedia

According to the survey, eight out of ten children and adolescents in Brazil watch videos, shows, movies or series on the Internet. The study showed that Internet use for multimedia activities by children and adolescents (83 percent of all respondents) is higher than Internet use for instant messaging (77 percent), than the practice of game playing without connection to other players (60 percent) or connected to other players (55 percent) and slightly higher than Internet use for listening to music (82 percent).

The Internet is used more often by cell phones (93 percent). Since 2014, cell phone use has outpaced computer use and Senne believes this should further increase. Internet use via television has also been growing (reaching 32 percent while in 2014 it was accessed by five percent of respondents). The survey showed that in the most vulnerable sectors of the population, people tend to use the internet exclusively through cell phones, as in the case of classes D and E, where this type of exclusive use was pointed out by 71 percent of respondents.

Education

Approximately 74 percent of children and adolescents use the Internet to research school work. Just over half (53 percent) use the Internet to read or watch the news, while 66 percent say they do research on the Internet out of curiosity or self-determination. However, Internet use within schools affects around 40 percent of children and adolescents in the country.

Social Media

According to the survey, approximately 82 percent of children and adolescents who use the Internet report using and having profiles on social media, representing approximately 22 million users in this age group in Brazil.

For the first time in the survey, the number of children and adolescents with accounts on WhatsApp has exceeded the number of profiles on Facebook. The number of users in this age group on Instagram also increased, which is the third platform in terms of number of users among this audience.

Despite the benefits, research coordinator Luísa Adib said that the internet use by children and adolescents also involves risks, such as contact with strangers, although this may not necessarily be an issue, she said. There may also be exposure to sensitive content and the children and adolescents’ own conduct may be seen as offensive to their own peers.

Luisa cautions that mediation between parents and their children and the monitoring of Internet use can help prevent these risks. “What we observe is that the most active and participative measures tend to yield better results than restrictive ones. Restriction can inhibit use, but it also does not prepare for use. So, it is the monitoring [by the parents] that enables the child to create tools and develop the skills required for their presence in this environment”.