Are you smarter than a ten year old?

• Parents think that their tech-savvy kids outshine them at exactly nine years and 10 months old 

• Two thirds (65%) of parents have asked their children to help them with technology
• Over half (53%) of children find their parents’ tech questions annoying

Ten-year-old kids are the masters of entertainment, according to new research released today by Virgin Media. The study of 1,004 parents and 1,004 children reveals that on average, kids are more confident than their parents at a range of different home entertainment technologies by the time they are just 10 years old.

The research pitted children against their parents and asked them how good they are at using technology around the house. At just eight years old, children are more confident than their parents at turning a games console on and playing a DVD through it, while at 13 they can work the smart thermostat better than their folks. The youngest ages that children become more confident at using technology than their parents are below:

The research proves that there has been a role reversal between grown-ups and kids, and the likelihood is that if you’re a parent, your child is teaching you how to use technology. Nearly two thirds of parents have asked their children for help with home entertainment tech (65%).

While they might be the fountain of knowledge when it comes to technology, kids aren’t enjoying their new role as teachers. Children find the questions irritating, with over half (53%) of those surveyed admitting that they find their parents’ questions annoying.

Parents argue that the reason children are more confident with technology is that they are brought up with it (63%). However, just 41% of children think that they are better at using technology than grown-ups because they use it regularly at home and at school, while 32% think that they learn faster than adults. Nearly a fifth (19%) think that adults aren’t cool enough for technology.

Kerris Bright, Chief Marketing Officer at Virgin Media, said: “Parents are finding that their children are able to use technology more easily than they are themselves. Kids are now more tech savvy than ever before, which is why we let kids take over one of our stores to advise adults about home entertainment technology.

“At Virgin Media it’s about making TV and entertainment simple. We recognise the challenge of navigating a connected world and that’s why we’re making the experience effortless. On Virgin TV everyone will be able to find the programmes that they love, as catch-up, on demand and Netflix are brought together on one platform, so grown-ups will no longer have to rely on their little masters of entertainment.”

ENDS

About Virgin Media

Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.

The company’s dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely available broadband speeds to homes and businesses. We’re expanding this through our £3bn Project Lightning programme, which will reach 17 million premises by the end of 2019.

Our interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones.

We launched the world’s first virtual mobile network, offering fantastic value and services. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.

Through Virgin Media Business, we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest speeds and tailor-made services.

Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries.