Parents Aim For ‘Digital Detox’ During Holidays

Four out of five parents want to go on a ‘digital detox’ to be more present with their families during the holiday period.

That’s according to a recent survey conducted by One Poll in conjunction with Groupon, which surveyed around 2,000 parents on their digital media habits and attitudes over the Christmas period.

It found that up to 80% of parents would rather connect with their families than to their devices, but also revealed that found over two thirds of parents reached for their phones instead.

Over half of the participants in the study admitted to having missed out on important bonding experiences and activities with their families because of their phone use.

A further 86% of parents also revealed they had received complaints from their kids about how much time they spend on their devices.

Just under half of the participants admitted that they spent the most amount of time on their phones on Christmas Day, using it to check their social media.

The average parent, the survey found, will spend around four hours a day on their phones during the Christmas period – racking up more than 80 hours over a single holiday period spent online.

While these statistics are shocking, it’s not all bad news – just over half of the parents surveyed said they intended to have device ‘detox’ over this Christmas break.

Just under a third of participants have even gone as far as banning phones and devices over the holiday season.