Urban Chinese born after 2000 are exposed to screens at a very early age, according to a survey report released by China National Youth Palace Association on Friday.
The survey was carried out from September 2014 to September 2015 in 18 cities, covering more than 30,000 minors and their parents.
Forty-three percent of Chinese kindergarten kids aged between three and six spend over half an hour every day watching TV, while 92 percent use a cellphone and and 83 percent play with handheld smart devices, the report said.
In addition, 44 percent of kindergarten kids play online games, and 21.2 percent of them use WeChat, a mobile messaging service.
After starting junior high school, 78 percent of children have their own cellphone, 34 percent have experience of interacting with a stranger online, and 26 percent participate in massively multiplayer online gaming such as Warcraft and League of Legends, according to the report.
The report warned that this amount of exposure to screens had several risks, including cyber-bullying and learning difficulties as a result of Internet addiction. The report called for more education on network security for kids.
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