Four out of five parents would be willing to go on a “digital detox” in order to be more present with their families during the holiday season, a new survey shows.
According a survey conducted by OnePoll and Groupon, nearly 80% of parents say they want a break from their devices over the holidays.
In addition, 86% of the 2,000 parents they surveyed say they’ve had their child complain that they spend too much time on their phone. In fact, of the parents surveyed, more than half (53%) said they’ve missed out on an activity or bonding experience with their child because they were preoccupied with a cellphone or another digital device.
And the usage of cellphones and other digital devices tends to go up around the holidays, according to the survey. When it comes to Christmas Day, 43% of parents said they spend more time on their cellphone than any other typical day, and more than half (51%) said they check social media more frequently during the holidays.
Polled parents also said they will spend, on average, four hours a day on their tech devices during the holiday season.
So what do parents plan to do to curb cellphone usage while spending time with their families over the holidays? The results from the survey show that three in four parents want the holidays be a social media-free occasion. Also, 31% of the surveyed parents have banned cellphones and devices from the holiday dinner table and plan to do it again this year.
More results from the survey can be viewed below.
TOP 10 HOLIDAY EXPERIENCES, ACCORDING TO PARENTS
Movies 52%
Holiday concert 41%
Travel somewhere 40%
Decorate the tree 35%
Ice skating 35%
Bake cookies 33%
Museum 33%
Sing Christmas carols 31%
Zoo / animal park 30%
Go to a holiday light show 30%
TOP 5 REASONS TO LIMIT HOLIDAY SCREEN TIME
To spend quality time together 53%
To spend more time talking to one another 52%
To be more present and engaged with my family 51%
So we could do an experience/activity together as a family 50%
To embrace the festive season with my family 38%
TOP 5 HOLIDAY COMPLAINTS FROM KIDS
Spending too much time on social media 46%
Not spending enough quality time with them 46%
Always being ‘too busy’ 43%
Not being fully engaged with them 30%
I’m no fun 13%
TOP 10 DIGITAL ANNOYANCES
People boasting on social media about the gifts they received 40%
People boasting on social media about places they’ve traveled to 38%
Having to respond to greetings from people I never hear from during the year 36%
People boasting on social media about experiences they’re doing 36%
The chain messages of holiday well wishes 35%
Copy-paste messages on social media 34%
People on their phones/devices at the dinner table 33%
An excessive number of notifications 32%
Loved ones being too distracted by social media 31%
Presents taking too long to open because people are taking photos 30%
