Biking, Swimming? Nah. Survey Says Kids Master Tech First

Jan. 20, 2010— -- So much for the simple things in life.

Kids these days may know their way around the family computer or how to use their parents' cell phones, but a new survey says they're more likely to master those high-tech tasks than basic life skills like riding a bike or tying their shoelaces.

According to a survey of 2,200 mothers commissioned by software maker AVG Technologies, 14 percent of kids aged 4 to 5 could tie their shoes -- compared to 21 percent who knew how to use a smartphone or iPad application.

Among kids aged 2 to 5, 52 percent knew how to ride a bike, while 58 percent could play a computer game and 69 percent could operate a computer mouse. Twenty percent knew how to swim, but 25 percent could open a Web browser.

"Children's behavior has changed, and that's mainly because the way we use the technology is so different. It changes everything," said J.R. Smith, AVG's CEO.

He said the company commissioned the survey as part of its yearlong series, "Digital Diaries," to show how differently children are interacting with technology and how parents need to educate their kids about the online world earlier than they might have thought.

An earlier AVG survey found that 92 percent of two-year-olds had some kind of digital identity -- like e-mail addresses or Facebook profiles created by their Web-happy parents.

But though the company conducted this latest study to raise awareness about kids' online safety, its findings also raise interesting questions about what constitutes a life skill in our wired world and how we prioritize the things we teach our kids.

"There's a very legitimate concern that the next generation will be so wired and so hooked up that we will forget some of the basic life skills," said Dr. Vic Strasburger, a member of the American Academy of Pediatric's (AAP) council on communication and media and a professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. "I think parents need to be increasingly vigilant because there are so many media and so many different avenues for accessing media."