The Digital Practices of Portuguese Children (6-18) during Covid-19 Lockdown

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic was addressed, in most European countries, with a mandatory lockdown period, during which the use of digital technologies was intensified, for remote working, communication, entertainment, consumption and learning. Our research aims to map the digital practices of Portuguese children (6-18) during lockdown (between March 19th and May 2nd, 2020), focusing on their experience of formal Education and on their wellbeing. In Portugal, our empirical work follows a mixed method, combining an online survey to a representative sample of 509 dyads of parents and children (10-18) and in-depth interviews to families with younger children (6-12). Our findings confirm a significant intensification of the use of digital technologies by children, partly required by school, partly due to the lack of alternatives for entertainment and socialization. Most children find using digital technologies for long periods due to remote schooling tiresome, and feel anxious due to recurrent news about Covid-19.