One in 10 parents have changed their broadband supplier following pressure from their children. Kids, aged between five and eight, were found to be most demanding when it comes to the internet, and spend on average two hours a day using it for streaming and gaming. A third of parents revealed their children use the internet for more than four hours each day – totalling approximately two solid months of annual usage.
Another third confessed to cutting off the Wi-Fi as a form of punishment, which sparked rows for 53 per cent of households. However, recent Ofcom reports of YouTube becoming the first place younger viewers go after they switch on their TV sets, the need for powerful home streaming is more important than ever.
Stephen Warburton, MD of Zen Internet’s consumer division, which commissioned the survey, said: “With summer holidays upon us, the demand for fast, reliable internet at home is only going to rise.
“With so many connected devices – from games consoles to smart TVs – competing for bandwidth, it’s crucial to have a connection that can handle it all.
“Otherwise buffering could be a permanent feature when you are streaming, gaming, and taking video calls.
“The news this week of YouTube being more popular than ever among younger viewers highlights this need for a robust connection.”
A third of parents reckon their youngsters are ‘hooked’ to online services. In a bid to tackle this issue, more than half of parents have put in place time limits on their children’s internet access.
However, with pupils breaking up for the summer holidays, 54 per cent of parents anticipate their internet consumption will only go up.
Most children primarily use the internet for gaming, followed by watching YouTube or streaming services, then television programmes or films.
Alongside managing their children’s internet demands for gaming and streaming, a quarter of home workers confessed that poor internet made remote working challenging.
A third have been forced to position themselves next to the router to secure a decent connection, whilst another 35 per cent have asked others to disconnect so that it’s not being stretched across devices.
The spokesperson for Zen Internet added: “By doing a simple internet speed test you can develop a great understanding of whether you are getting what you should be.
“A download speed of around 100Mbps is recommended to seamlessly game and take video calls concurrently, although if there is considerable usage you may consider going for a higher speeds.”
