Release of 13.05.2020
About 67% of Austrian Children are Coping Well with Increased Use of Digital Media during Covid-19
A1, the Austrian subsidiary of A1 Telekom Austria Group, has conducted a survey among 150 persons* on the increased use of digital media
• Two thirds of 150 respondents are coping well with the current situation at home
• 56% of the students evaluate homeschooling positively
• 64% consider an increased use of digital media to be good
• 8 out of 10 miss their classmates
• Type of school makes a difference in coping with the situation
• General increase in the use of digital gadgets during leisure time
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed all areas of life, including the everyday life of Austria's schoolchildren. Learning and leisure - everything takes place within their homes. A1 therefore conducted a quick survey among 150 A1 customers with children aged 10-14 to find out about the current situation of homeschooling.
According to the parents, two thirds of the students have settled in well in the new Corona everyday life. Focusing on the topic of homeschooling, 56% of the children consider the new way of learning to be good. An increased use of digital media is approved by 64% of the students.
The type of school makes the difference: about 70% of the parents of high school students say that their children cope well or very well with the new situation at home, but only slightly more than half of the middle school students. According to the survey, different availability of hardware or a different need for support by the teachers might be the reason: While in families with high school students only 50% have to share the computer, in families with middle school students, it is about 75% and just over half of them have to share the device with 2-4 people. Teacher support is missed with a different intensity as well: almost 55% of the parents of middle school students state that their children lack teacher support. Regarding high school students, this is true for 38%.
The use of computers in everyday school life has generally increased significantly: 8 out of 10 students spend more time in front of a screen due to Covid-19. Nearly 60% use their mobile phones more often for school purposes, such as learning Apps. Nevertheless, textbooks are still in use for the new school life: Half of all parents surveyed say that their children spend as much time with textbooks as before Corona.
Communication with teachers takes place mainly via e-mail and various learning platforms. For 35% of the students, video conferencing with the teacher is part of their new daily routine. The most difficult issue for all students is the lack of social contact. 8 out of 10 parents confirm that their children currently miss personal contact with their classmates. Especially the younger ones, aged 10-12 years, find it harder to learn at home. Every second family states that the students do not like learning at home, because the organizational effort is higher.
As expected, digital everyday companions such as mobile phones, laptops or tablets are used much more intensively than before Corona, not only for school activities, but also during leisure time. 63% of the respondents state that mobile phones are used more often than before, and when it comes to computers or laptops, as many as 7 out of 10 parents observe a more intensive use. Board games, books and creative activities such as handicrafts have also gained increased popularity: about a quarter say that more time is spent on these activities. The main reason for the increased use, apart from school, is communication with friends and family: 80% of parents say that mobile phones and other tools are now used by children mainly for this purpose. Apps or platforms of choice for communicating with friends are WhatsApp for over 90%, followed by TikTok and Snapchat with around 40% each. Less popular, however, is Facebook: only 8% use Facebook to communicate with friends and family
.
Other important reasons for a higher time investment in digital gadgets are gaming (58%), social media presence (48%) and streaming (46%).
*A1 Survey: 150 customers took part in the online survey during April 23-28, 2020.
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