Traditional children's hobbies replaced by YouTube and gadgets, poll claims

Model making and dens among the children's activities dying out to technology, survey finds

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Traditional children’s hobbies have been replaced by modern phenomena such as computer and mobile games, according to a new poll.

Watching TV or YouTube were both more popular than reading books or playing with toys, the survey of 1,000 7-12-year-olds found.

Building dens only came ninth in the top 10 children’s current hobbies, with other activities such as playing conkers or roller skating not making the list.

However, while model making and climbing trees are hobbies of the past, the poll also found that collecting items remains popular among young people.

In fact, more than half of modern children are currently collecting items for fun.

The most popular collectables among those polls were stuffed toys (43 per cent) followed by cards (42 per cent) and stickers (38 per cent).

Half were driven by the desire to see how far they can grow a collection and 59 per cent enjoyed swapping with friends, while 56 per cent swapped items just to stay involved with what their friends are up to.

Forty three per cent said their longest standing collections make them feel proud and 38 per cent look forward to showing it off to their friends.

“The joy on children’s faces in store when they realise how close they are to completing their card collection brings back my own memories of collecting as a child," said Mark Given, chief marketing officer of Sainsbury’s, which commissioned the survey.

“I think we can all remember that excitement."

SWNS