Around 95% of Brazilian kids aged 9–17 are internet users
The number of children and teenagers with internet access in Brazil saw a small increase in 2023, a survey released this week by TIC Kids Online Brasil shows.
According to the figures, 95 percent of children and adolescents aged between nine and 17 throughout the country log on to the web—over 25.1 million in this age group. The survey also showed there is still a part of this group that has never been online: more than 580 thousand people, down from 940 thousand last year.
Back in 2022, around 24.4 million kids in this age range were connected to the internet—or 92 percent of the group. On the other hand, those who had never tapped into the net accounted for 940 thousand.
Of the respondents who said they had never been online in the current survey, more than 475 thousand are in classes D and E, which casts light on the inequality in access. They also form the majority of those who have browsed the web, but not in the last three months.
The study, conducted by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of Information Society, linked to the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, also points out that, in 24 percent of all cases, their first access to the internet happened before the age of six. In 2015, the first visit happened later on, usually at the age of 10 (16%). That year, only 11 percent of children were up to six years old when they went online for the first time.
“The age of the first access has been brought forward,” said Luísa Adib, coordinator of the TIC Kids Online Brasil survey. “Twenty-four percent of children and adolescents report they entered the internet before the age of six. This reveals that the connectivity among these individuals increased little,” she said in an interview with Agência Brasil.
Forms of access
The main way in which children and teenagers get online is via their cell phones, which was mentioned by 97 percent of the respondents. Cell phones are also the only way to access the internet for 20 percent of them.
Browsing via television has surged in recent years, reaching 70 percent by 2023. In 2019, this type of access was mentioned by only 43 percent of users.
The use of computers to surf the web, on the other hand, has remained stable at 38 percent, with a predominance among higher-income social classes (71%). In classes D and E, a mere 15 percent say they log on to the internet through their computer.
“Over the course of this time series, we have seen a drop in internet access via computers, but there is a stark difference between socio-economic classes. Children in classes A and B navigate the internet through a much wider range of devices. This can affect how they take advantage of opportunities in educational activities in search of information, for example. Children accessing the internet on their cell phones and computers carry out all the educational activities surveyed in greater proportions than those who only go online on their cell phones. They also seize more opportunities and are able to develop a large number of digital skills,” said Luísa Adib, survey coordinator.
This variety in the use of devices, as well as issues like data availability and connection speed and quality, demonstrate there is still a great deal of inequality in access, she added.
“We have 95 percent of users—almost all of the children and adolescents in this age group who are users—but we cannot say that they use the net under the same conditions. There are a large number of hurdles to be overcome if we are to offer significant connectivity levels for all users and universal access,” she concluded.
A total of 2,704 children and adolescents aged 9–17 and 2,704 parents and guardians were interviewed for the survey all over Brazil. The study was carried out between March and July this year. TIC Kids Online Brasil has been conducted annually since 2012 and was only not carried out in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
