One in ten primary school children have smartphones
Mobile phones have become a security blanket for many parents who want to be in contact with their kids at all times. And while secondary school-aged children invariably become mobile phone owners as their independence grows, ownership is starting younger and younger.
In fact one in ten parents in the UK thinks it is acceptable for children as young as four years old — when many are still grappling with their basic number recognition — to own a phone.
This compares with about 50% who considered age 11 and above to be the right age for owning a mobile phone. And despite the ease with which children lose things, ten per cent of under-10s own an iPhone.
These are the findings of a survey carried out by internet security supplier, Westcoastcloud, looking at technology-ownership among children.
One in twenty primary school children surveyed own an iPad according to the survey which questioned 2000 parents of children aged 10 and under, of which there was a slight boy bias with 57% having boys.
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Pester-power is as strong as ever among children and their demanding of the latest technology starts young: 17% of parents questioned said they’d bought their children a phone in response to their child’s pestering. This compares with 69% whose motivation was to ‘keep in touch with them when they’re out’.
But some of the most interesting findings came when the issue of social networking was explored. Teachers and parents alike are often deeply concerned about the impact of social networking on children’s interactions with their friends and strangers and headlines about cyber bullying have not helped.
If parents are concerned perhaps they’re not concerned enough, as almost 36% of children in this age bracket were involved in social networking — 64% were not. The minimum age for Facebook users is 13.
Fourteen per cent of parents followed or were an online ‘friend’ of their child’s while about 22% were not. One in four parents said their child had an email account.
With the rise of smartphones and younger and younger ownership it raises questions about how parents are controlling their young children’s access to the internet. While many are diligent with parental control software on their home PCs and laptops, they must remember the access their kids have through mobile phones.
One in ten of the children of parents surveyed owned a smartphone such as an iPhone or Blackberry. Almost a quarter of parents do not monitor how their children use their mobile phones — be they owned by their children or their own that their kids borrow.
Bill Strain of Westcoastcloud said: “If parents are happy for their children to be using these products they need to understand that the internet is not a private place. Filtering products are available that can help parents keep their children safe online.”
Westcoastcloud has released an internet security product Netintelligence as an App on iTunes for school use and will be releasing a home version later in the year.
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