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Santé Publique France Data Show Daily Screen Use From Age 3, With Stark Inequalities

The national Enabee release gives policymakers concrete baselines on children’s screen habits, spotlighting gaps by family education level.

Overview

  • The 2022 Enabee survey of 12,818 children aged 3 to 11 finds near-universal daily exposure to screens across French preschool and primary schoolers.
  • Average daily screen time reached 1h22 for ages 3–5, 1h53 for ages 6–8, and 2h33 for ages 9–11.
  • Usage was roughly twice as high on days without school, while television remained predominant, accounting for 71% of daily screen time for ages 3–5 and 60% for ages 6–8.
  • Device and platform access started early, with nearly half of 11‑year‑olds owning a smartphone and 15% of under‑6s having a tablet, while social‑network use occurred below the legal age for 25% of 9–11s and 7% of 6–8s, and Arcom reported 44% using such platforms before 13 and urged stricter age checks.
  • Parents commonly set time limits yet fewer regularly block content, research links longer exposure to obesity, sleep problems and cardiovascular risk, and the Health Ministry advises no screens before 3 and only exceptional, supervised, educational content from 3 to 6.