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Small screens continue to have a bigger presence in children's lives, as statistics show one in four spends more than 20 hours a week on screen-based activities.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics analysed how much time children are clocking in front of a small screen by tracking the number of hours spent watching TV, using the internet or playing screen-based games on consoles and activities via smartphones or tablets.
The data released on Friday found nine out of 10 children manage to log significant time in front of the small screen, similar to the results recorded in 2017.
But the amount of time spent by children aged five to 14 has increased dramatically.
"Of children doing screen-based activities, 40 per cent were spending 10-19 hours, but there has been an increase in the percentage of children using screens for more than 20 hours a week, from 16 per cent to 24 per cent," said Michelle Ducat, ABS head of education statistics.
The increase means children spend less of their day on other hobbies, with time spent reading dropping to just two hours a week.
"Reading for pleasure was considerably less popular than screen-based activities, with 72 per cent of children reading, down from 79 per cent in 2017-18," Ms Ducat said.
"Around one-third of these children read for two hours or less a week."
Reading is less popular with older age groups, with 63 per cent of 12 to 14-year-olds reading books, compared with 76 per cent of five to eight-year-olds.
In 2021-22, children taking part in a creative activity dropped to 59 per cent from 63 per cent in 2017-18.
Arts and crafts were children's top creative activity, with 39 per cent participating at least once a week.
"This was followed by singing or playing musical instruments and creative writing, both with 19 per cent of children involved in these activities," Ms Ducat said.
Creative activities are also not as popular for older children, with 55 per cent of 12 to 14-year-olds taking part, compared with 60 per cent of five to eight-year-olds, and girls enjoying the activity more than boys.
