89 pc Indian mothers concerned about kids' screen time

New Delhi, May 12
A whopping 89 per cent of Indian mothers are concerned about the screen time of their children, according to a report on Sunday.

The report, released by market research firm Techarc on Mother’s Day, is based on a survey of 600 working mothers, across four metro cities, having at least one child between grade 3-10 in school.

It explores insights on the digital ecosystem in which mothers operate today viz-a-viz the challenges, concerns, interests, and preferences.

“Mothers believe that increased screen time affects their studies and has a negative impact on the mental and physical health of their children,” the report said.

Further, the report showed that privacy (81 per cent), inappropriate content (72 per cent), teenage influencers (45 per cent), deep fakes, and impersonation (26 per cent) were other top concerns bothering mothers.

Mothers feel that deep fakes and Gen AI will add to their future parenting worries as they get to see the rising cases along with learning how these can be negatively used to malign the reputation and credibility of individuals.

Among the devices, mothers are concerned about the expected popularity of VR headsets, especially after the launch of Apple Vision Pro.

Mothers believe that “this form factor will zone out their children who will lose attentiveness towards the environment adding to their distractions,” the report said.

On the other hand, mothers also found the digital world much more useful and relevant for children, compared to five years ago.

More than 60 per cent of the mothers spent 51-85 per cent on their children through digital mediums buying various goods and services. Nearly 20 per cent of digital savvy mothers spent more than 85 per cent, the report said.

Mothers’ most trusted digital partners include Amazon (for shopping), Swiggy (for food), and Disney Hotstar (for entertainment)