Games and video, level with each other. Dubit asked US parents what their child's devices are used for, in their own words. Gaming and play came up in 41% of answers, and video and passive viewing in 41%. Learning and schoolwork came up in 14%, on a weighted base of 221. Answers could fall under several themes, and 55% had no clear theme.1
After games and video, social communication came up in 17% of answers. Music and audio was named by 14%, level with learning and schoolwork.
Dubit reads this as gaming being used as entertainment in practice. That holds even though a share of respondents credit games with cognitive or educational value when asked separately whether games are good or bad.
What devices do children own?
Tablets for the youngest, then smartphones, consoles and computers as children get older: in Dubit's Q2 2026 US survey, 64% of 4 to 6 year olds and 62% of 7 to 9 year olds own a tablet.2 Tablet ownership falls to 43% by 16 to 18. By then, smartphone ownership is well above it.
Games console ownership rises steadily with age. It is 12% at 1 to 3, 27% at 4 to 6, 42% at 7 to 9 and 50% at 10 to 12. Among teens aged 13 to 18 it is 57 to 61%. Computers and laptops are barely present among young children, at 4 to 7%. From age 10 they climb: 34% at 10 to 12, 42% at 13 to 15 and 51% at 16 to 18. Wearable tech goes from near zero under age 6 to 32% by 16 to 18.
Some of the youngest have no device of their own: 33% of 1 to 3 year olds and 14% of 4 to 6 year olds. By the teen years that falls to under 2%.
How ownership has changed over time, and which device grew fastest, is on its own page.
At what age does a child get their own smartphone?
Most have one by 10 to 12: in Dubit's Q2 2026 US survey, 66% of 10 to 12 year olds own a smartphone, up from 44% at 7 to 9.2 The share climbs at every age band. It starts at 12% at 1 to 3 and 22% at 4 to 6. It reaches 84% at 13 to 15 and 87% at 16 to 18.
That is the steepest climb with age of any personal device in the survey. In Dubit's tracking, a young child's first device of their own is almost always a tablet. From the tween years, the smartphone overtakes everything else as the main personal device.
What devices do children use at school?
Computers, most of all: in Dubit's US survey, 45% of respondents report their child using a computer or laptop at school.3 A tablet is reported by 28%, a smartphone by 25% and a smartboard by 13%.
The computer's 45% at school is well ahead of its 26% share as the device preferred for learning at home, where tablets edge out computers. At home, Dubit reads the preference as likely reflecting younger children and the ease of a touchscreen. At school, Dubit reads the lean towards computers as probably reflecting that typing, research and formal coursework need a full keyboard.
Beyond those four, a TV screen was reported by 8.6%, an e-reader by 8.1% and wearable tech by 6.9%. A games console was reported by 4.2%, a smart speaker by 3.6% and a VR headset by 2.6%. Another 11% said their child does not attend school, and 11% that none of the listed devices is used there.
Footnotes
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Dubit's US survey, reported 6 August 2026. Parents' open answers to "what are you using your devices for", coded into themes from English-language answers; one answer could fall under several themes. Weighted base 221. ↩
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Dubit's US survey, Q2 2026, by age band from 1 to 3 up to 16 to 18. Devices that belong to the child personally; respondents could pick several. ↩ ↩2
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Dubit's US survey, reported August 2026. The devices used in school; respondents could pick several. ↩
