Half of urban Chinese children aged between six and 12 are using social media sites and apps such as QQ, Weibo and WeChat, according to a survey conducted by children's activity centres in 15 major cities.
3,306 children from cities including Beijing and Shanghai took the questionnaire, which found that 44.5 percent have cellphones and nearly 68 percent have access to tablets. Many of these primarily urban children have been able to use such devices since they were in kindergarten.
84.8 percent of the respondents were account holders on instant messaging site QQ, with nearly 70 percent logging in everyday. 51 percent of the children hold accounts on microblog Weibo - although hopefully none of them were involved in the company's IPO in April - while 45.7 percent are sharing 'Moments' and gossiping on WeChat.
Interestingly, the survey found that the children's social media behaviours are similar to those of Chinese adults, 80 percent of whom use computers to search for information on a daily basis. Many of the kids also said they would turn to the internet for a solution to something they didn't know.
More understandably, gaming is a huge part of the younger generation's technology use. The survey suggested that more than 90 percent of respondents play online games and 42 percent pay for games every month.
When asked, 30 percent of the children considered themselves more familiar with internet technology that their parents.
[Image via Flickr]
