Technology and media play an important role in family life in Germany. Positioning tech devices and media as tools for creating and enhancing shared family experiences will therefore resonate with parents.
Children and Technology in Germany — Current Landscape
While many parents prefer screens for family activities and introduce tech to their children at a young age, they also express various concerns, such as exposure to inappropriate content online or tech addiction.
Addressing these issues is essential to stand out to parents and give them peace of mind while their children use technology. For example, considering parents’ concerns about excessive tech usage and screen time, brands can extend online activities into offline experiences, helping to manage children’s use of technology while encouraging quality time.
Nearly half of parents consider it worth paying more for tech and media for children, even those with a tight budget. To capitalise on this spending potential, brands can emphasise how tech and media support children’s holistic development.
Children’s Use of Technology Statistics
- Parents’ Behaviour Regarding Children’s Use of Technology: 54% of parents prefer family activities that involve screens over non-screen ones, peaking among full-time working parents.
- Children and Technology in Germany: 38% of German parents believe playing games online can be good for children’s development and many recognise the importance of educating kids about AI.
Children’s Technology Use Report — What’s Inside?
Key Topics Analysed in this Report
- Devices used by children in Germany.
- Digital activities done by children, including watching video streaming services and online gaming.
- Type of streaming services used by children.
- Social media usage among children in Germany.
- Parents’ views on the appropriate age for children to start using technology.
- Parents’ concerns about children’s use of technology, such as exposure to inappropriate content, addiction, and online bullying.
- Parents’ attitudes and behaviour towards children and technology, including spending potential, in-app purchases, and AI in learning.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Opportunities
- Outlook
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OPPORTUNITIES
- Celebrate the family bond
- Advertise tech as quality time for families
- Highlight tech’s role in children’s development
- Convey how tech can benefit children
- BBC highlights the educational value of its content
- Give parents peace of mind
- Reassure parents about children’s tech usage
- Ways to ease parents’ concerns about kids’ tech usage
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CONSUMER
- Devices used by children
- Children use a variety of tech devices
- Use of tech devices varies with age
- Graph 1: devices used for selected digital activities by the youngest child (NET), by age of youngest child, 2025
- Tailor marketing to device-specific use cases
- Graph 2: devices used for selected digital activities by the youngest child, 2025
- Emphasise how smartphones support teens’ lifestyles while reassuring parents
- Showcase the versatility of tablets – ideal for both learning and entertainment
- Address parents’ hardware needs for kids’ devices
- Asus highlights the durability of its laptops to withstand rough handling by children
- Digital activities done by children
- Most children engage in digital activities from a young age
- Graph 3: devices used for selected digital activities by the youngest child (NET), by age of youngest child, 2025
- Highlight the importance of TVs in enhancing family moments
- Show how connected TV features can make life easier for busy parents
- Leverage shared viewing and family-friendly video content to engage young children
- Partner with young kids’ favourite shows
- Lego often collaborates with kids’ shows to turn their favourite characters into fun play experiences
- Use audio formats to increase engagement with children beyond video
- Leverage the popularity of video games to engage children
- Create in-game experiences to engage teens
- Drive growth by leveraging gaming’s potential to support child development
- Examples of categories that can tap into online games’ potential for child development
- Showcase how gaming can bring families closer
- Nintendo demonstrates how the Switch helps even the youngest family members join in
- Gamer parents who enjoy gaming with kids are more likely to make in-app purchases
- Help parents guide their children through the world of ecommerce
- Full-time working parents are a key target group for tech and media brands
- Graph 4: devices used for selected digital activities by the youngest child (NET), by employment of parent, 2025
- Video streaming services used
- Netflix is the most popular streaming platform among children watching streaming, with Amazon and Disney+ close behind
- Graph 5: video streaming services used by youngest child, 2025
- Families are a key audience for streaming services
- Emphasise family- and child-friendly content when marketing to parents
- Social media usage
- YouTube is the most popular social media platform among children
- Graph 6: social media platforms used by youngest child, by age of youngest child, 2025
- YouTube provides opportunities to reach children
- Appeal to teens on TikTok and Instagram
- Parents’ views on the appropriate age for kids to start using technology
- Most parents think children should begin using technology after the age of 9
- Parents introduce children to tech early, but it raises concerns
- Parents’ concerns about children’s tech usage
- Parents have a wide range of concerns about their children’s tech usage
- Addressing parents’ concerns and building trust with them is crucial
- Deutsche Telekom seeks to inform parents about ‘sharenting’ and their children’s digital footprints
- Support parents managing children’s screen time…
- …by offering ways to extend children’s tech engagement offline
- Brands expanding offline engagement
- Maintain transparency about AI-generated content to increase appeal among parents
- Tackle online gaming concerns to attract more players
- Address parental concerns to grow social media user base
- Instagram promotes teen accounts by forming an emotional connection with parents
- Attitudes & behaviours
- Capitalise on parents’ readiness to spend on tech and media for children
- Graph 7: attitudes towards children and technology, 2025
- Target teens to influence family purchase decisions across categories
- Leverage parents’ spending on in-app purchases
- Emphasise the safety advantages of tech ecosystems for families
- Position devices as hands-on AI learning tools
- Samsung highlights how its AI improves the learning experience
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MARKET DRIVERS
- Impact of the German economy
- Parents are cautious with spending but prioritise investing in their children’s tech and media needs
- Graph 8: financial consumer confidence, 2022-25
- Birth rate
- Declining birth rates mean a smaller market for children tech and media
- Graph 9: total fertility rate, 2013-23
- Impact of parents’ tech ownership and habits
- Smartphones and TVs are highly popular
- Graph 10: device ownership, by any children, 2024
- Overwhelmed parents seek support to manage children’s tech habits
- Recommendations by the German federal ministry of health
- Health institution guidelines recommend parents limit their children’s tech usage
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APPENDIX
- Appendix – abbreviations, consumer research methodology and language usage
- Abbreviations
- Generations
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
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