Communication

THE MOST POPULAR COMMUNICATION APPS

WhatsApp was, for the third year in a row, kids’ communication kingpin. In 2020, 2021, and 2022, WhatsApp claimed the top spot for most popular comms app globally, in the UK, and in Spain, where 63% of kids use the instant messaging app to stay connected with friends and family. In the US and Australia, however, Discord claimed first place, with 34% of children in both countries messaging, video calling, and bonding in community-based servers.

Coinciding with 2022’s return to pre-lockdown levels of face-to-face connection in most countries, video-conferencing tool Zoom fell from second place to fourth place globally, with just over 1 in 5 kids using the app (22%), compared to third place Skype’s 1 in 4 users worldwide (25%). The Australian and US leader, Discord, climbed to second place worldwide in 2022, with 32% of kids using the often controversial server-based app to stay in touch.

Time kids spent on communications apps fell slowly throughout the year. Children in the US spent the most time chatting in January, averaging 46 minutes a day, but by the end of the year, this daily time dropped to just 37 minutes spent communicating. On average, kids in Australia spent the most time on communication apps over the year, with their daily average only dropping by 5 minutes between January and November, and finally hitting a low in December at 36 daily minutes.

In July and August, the time Spanish children spent on communications apps dipped to just 20 minutes daily. This low point corresponded with their weeks of school vacation, when the priority of video chat and group calls is often brushed aside for family holiday time.

THE MOST BLOCKED COMMUNICATION APPS IN 2022

What we expect for communication apps

Studies show that even millennials, who are now at parenting age themselves, hate phone calls, which doesn’t bode well for voice-based communication among the even younger generations, who have grown up using online chat from an early age.

While video conferencing apps will remain a useful tool, helping families stay in touch from miles away, and taking the difficulty out of distance learning, we anticipate that video-based tools will become less necessary for kids, especially as most text-based messaging apps, and many popular social media platforms, also offer the option to chat over video with contacts.

The fatigue of being “always on” may also cause children to spend less and less time on communications apps in the years to come. Once a lifeline to stay in touch du­ring lock­downs and school shutdowns, communica­tions apps and social media have now seeped into everyday life, intruding at an unwelcome time, or distracting us and our children from living in the moment. While communications apps are necessary and loved, we anticipate the time spent on them to level out across the coming year, as children and families make an attempt to disconnect from the constant ping of notifications and news.

Social media and online comment sections aren’t the only place that children can be exposed to hateful messages and attacks, or cyberbullying. In many cases of online bullying, the victim knows the perpetrator personally, which means communication apps are just one more method that bullies can use to harass and intimidate others. Children need to be encouraged to talk about anything that makes them feel uncomfortable or upset online. Families can also watch for signs of online bullying, such as changes in eating and sleeping habits, children feeling angry or frustrated after spending time online, and increased secrecy, particularly surrounding technology use.

Whether talking to friends, family, or online contacts, it’s important to safeguard personal information, and prevent the spread of potentially misleading messages. Communication apps like WhatsApp and Telegram can be a hotbed for misinformation, making it difficult for people to check sources or really understand where the initial message is coming from. Communication apps make it all too easy to forward and spread potentially harmful messages, which is why talking to children about fake news, verifiable sources, and disinformation is more important than it ever has been.