Here is an article from New Media Philippines which discusses the recent study done by Synovate commissioned by the Cartoon Network on Filipino kids ages 7-14 years old.  The study found out that most Filipino kids are spending more time online compared to playing console games, listening to music, and reading non-school books. Internet usage is second only to watching TV.

Here is the article:

In a study done by Synovate commissioned by the Cartoon Network, Filipino kids 7 – 14 years old are spending more time online compared to playing console games, listening to music, and reading non-school books. Internet usage is second only to watching TV. If you think about it, this was kinda expected due to the increasing number of internet cafes all over the country combined with the aggressive marketing and roll-out of broadband service providers.

What I find interesting in this particular chart is that console and handheld games are not as popular as people would like to think. This is mostly because of the price point which is a huge barrier for a lot of Filipinos. A PSP or Nintendo DS can set you back thousands of pesos… what more for a PS3 or and XBOX 360? The good thing with the internet is that it provides cheap entertainment. All you need is money for internet cafe rental and you’re all set.

Here’s what they actually use the internet for:

Online gaming and watching videos take the top two spots followed by doing school work and homework. Blogging is way down the list which is understandable since you can’t really expect them to blog at such an early age. What’s interesting to note here is that the study shows that kids do e-mail more than instant messaging (which I find unbelievable).

With regards to the sites that they visit, here’s the list:

Social networks rank high probably because of the availability of free web-based games that the kids can play. Note that Friendster is still the top site for them, most probably because they don’t want their parents prying on them on Facebook, haha!