KIM-Studie 2024: Kindheit, Internet, Medien

Key insights

5 takeaways

01
Netflix has moved into first place as children's favourite video platform, at 21 percent, ahead of KiKA at 14 percent and YouTube at 11 percent.See it on page 42
02
Smartphone ownership among children rises steeply with age, from 11 percent among six- to seven-year-olds to 79 percent among 12- to 13-year-olds.See it on page 19
03
Daily internet use among internet-using children rose to 54 percent, a seven-point increase on the previous study.See it on page 36
04
WhatsApp is the most used online application, with 60 percent of child internet users using it daily or almost daily.See it on page 37
05
Eight percent of internet-using children say they have seen content that was too old for them online, and contact with such content rises steeply with age.See it on page 68

Summary

The KIM-Studie 2024 (Kindheit, Internet, Medien) is the 15th edition of the representative study series by the Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (mpfs), covering children aged six to 13 in Germany. Fieldwork ran from 18 September to 7 November 2024, with 1,225 children and their primary caregivers interviewed; children were surveyed face-to-face (CAPI) and parents via paper questionnaire. Topics include device ownership, leisure activities, online use, school digital media, digital games, online risks and family media rules.

The study reports that 46 percent of children own a smartphone, rising from 11 percent among six- to seven-year-olds to 79 percent among 12- to 13-year-olds. Internet use at least rarely reached 72 percent of children, and 54 percent of internet-using children go online daily. WhatsApp is the most used online application, with 60 percent of internet-using children using it daily or almost daily.

In terms of viewing, Netflix overtook KiKA as the favourite video platform at 21 percent. Among children who use the internet, 8 percent report encountering age-inappropriate content.