When did you receive your first cell phone? Studies show that in 2009, there was an increase in children ages six to 11 who owned a mobile phone.
About 36% of children in the age 10-11 bracket owned a cell phone in 2009 – a 16 percentage point increase since 2005, as well as the largest increase among all age brackets. Only 6.5% of children in the 6-7 age bracket owned a cell phone in 2009, compared to 4.9% in 2005.
Most of the children ages six to 11 who owned a cell phone used it primarily to keep in touch with parents. Approximately 68% of children used their cell phones to call friends, followed by 55.7% using their device for emergencies. Text messaging and game playing are also two popular activities children use their cell phones for.
Source: eMarketer; January 12, 2010
