Behind the News survey finds 56pc of children engage in excessive screen time.

By BtN reporter Amelia Moseley

A Behind The News survey has found about three in five children spend more time in front of a screen than the national guidelines recommend, with many respondents saying they would find it impossible to go without digital devices for one week.

The technology usage poll, conducted via the website of the children’s current affairs program, surveyed more than 18,000 young Australians to find out about their tech habits.

It found 56 per cent of the young people surveyed spent more than two hours a day using technology outside of school hours. One in 10 said they spent at least four out-of-school hours a day looking at a screen.

Hours spent using technology outside of school hours:

Hours per day	Percentage of survey respondents
1	18 per cent
2	19 per cent
3	17 per cent
4	11 per cent
5	6 per cent
6	5 per cent
7	3 per cent
8	2 per cent
9	1 per cent
10	1 per cent
11	1 per cent
12+	9 per cent

These results are significantly higher than Australia’s national screen-time guidelines recommend.

The guidelines say children aged two to five years should have no more than an hour a day of screen time, and five to 18-year-olds should have no more than two hours a day.

The survey also revealed that boys were spending more time on technology than girls. They reported clocking up an average of 4.2 hours a day on technology outside of school, compared to an average of 3.7 hours for young females.

The results also showed that technology usage rises with age.

Children aged eight to 12 spent significantly less time on technology, compared to teenagers who reported spending up to six or seven hours a day looking at a screen before or after school.

One in four young people surveyed also said they would find it impossible to give up technology for one week, while 15 per cent said they could not even go without technology for one day.

Playing games, watching movies, and watching TV or online videos all topped the list when it came to how young people were actually spending most of their tech time.

Others said they were mostly doing homework, but nearly the same amount said they were spending most of their time on social media.

Tablets emerged as the most popular technological device for young people to use, followed by computers, TVs and smartphones.

Gaming consoles came last in the list, seeming to point towards a new trend for young gamers to primarily use portable devices.

Device Used:

Device	Percentage of survey respondents
Tablet	30 per cent
Computer	22 per cent
TV	20 per cent
Phone	16 per cent
Gaming console	13 per cent

This post originally appeared on ABC News.