Nairobi — Households with children under the age of 15 have been found to have a higher rate of ICT gadget adoption, according to a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the Communications Authority of Kenya.

The survey, conducted between 2016 and 2022, revealed that households with children under 15 had 95 percent and 53 percent higher mobile phone and TV ownership, respectively.

"Nationally, households with children under 15 years had a higher mobile phone ownership (94.6%) compared to those without (91.6%). Television ownership was also higher in households with children (53.4%) compared to those without (44.3%)," it stated.

In urban areas, households with children under 15 years had higher ownership of ICT devices compared to households without children, except for computers.

In rural areas, households with children under 15 years had slightly higher ownership of radios and mobile phones compared to those without children.

Between 2016 and 2022, mobile phone ownership rose from 74.2 percent to 97.6 percent, while TV ownership increased from 66.6 percent to 70.9 percent.

According to the World Health Organization, increased exposure of ICT devices to children, particularly those under 5 years old, may significantly sabotage their growth.

WHO stresses that excessive screen time in children replaces healthy behaviors and habits such as physical activity and sleep and leads to harmful habits such as reduced sleep or day-night reversal, malnutrition, headaches, and neck pain.