Children replacing TV with mobile internet

 

Two-thirds of kids now have a phone with internet access.

Research has shown that mobiles are becoming ever more central to UK children’s lives.

According to a ChildWise survey, six out of ten kids aged between 7 and 16 years have a mobile phone that can access the web. This figure rises to 77% among 11 to 16-year-olds.

The specialist research agency, which polled 2,770 British children, found that mobile phones (30%) are the technology kids feel they could least live without, beating computers (23%), games consoles (17%) and television (15%).

Children with their own mobile spend an average of 1.6 hours using it for activities other than phone calls. More than half use their phone in the morning before school and 45% in bed at night.

Reading still tops the list of things to do before going to sleep (39%), but using a mobile is close (32%), and listening to music (28%) or watching TV (28%) are also not far behind. Phone usage peaks after school, with almost half of children using their phone at this time.

The findings show an increasing number of children pay monthly for their phones, rather than Pay As You Go. Almost 45% of 11 to 16-year-olds with a mobile are on contract. Parents pay the full costs for 55% of phone owners.

As well as having internet on their mobiles, nearly three-quarters of UK children now have their own laptop or PC, with 58% able to access the web in their bedroom.

Just as in previous studies, Facebook emerged as the most popular website for children in Britain, chosen by 25% of all youngsters surveyed. Video site YouTube (12%) and game community Moshi Monsters (5%) were also among the top choices.

Half of all 5 to 16-year-olds who use the internet had visited Facebook in the past week. Interestingly, 39% of kids using the social network are aged under 13, the minimum age allowed by Facebook’s terms of service.

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