Creative girls edge out game-playing boys for tablet usage among children

THE computer geek is stereotypically male, but have the boys maintained their dominance in the post-PC tablet era?

CHILDREN are embracing tablets more than ever, with girls the most switched on, a survey shows.

The number of children in the six-to-13 age group who own or use the technology leapt from a third to more than half in the 12 months to December 2013, according to the latest Young Australians Survey by Roy Morgan Research.

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Now, 57 per cent of 10 to 13-year-olds and 49 per cent of six to nine-year-olds own or use a tablet, and girls are leading the way by 4 per cent.

Apple trigged the tablet revolution with the iPad in 2010, but its dominance is now being challenged by Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy Tab.

QUT Faculty of Education Associate Professir Margaret Lloyd said girls and boys used their devices differently, with girls more likely to use a tablet as a creative platform.

“Girls are more interested in using computers to achieve an outcome. Boys are more likely to use the technology for gameplay,” she said.

Olivia Havill, 10, uses her tablet to hone her music skills.

“I use it for my singing because I do vocal lessons,” she said.

“I research songs and lyrics and sometimes I record my voice.”