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Ofcom study shows increasing smartphone ownership among kids globally

In the US, 37% of parents of children aged nine to eleven report that their child has a smartphone of their own. Additionally, 80% of kids aged nine to 16 reported using a smartphone to go online every day or nearly daily in research conducted across 19 nations in Europe

Mirror Now Digital

Updated Sep 17, 2022, 19:29 IST

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KEY HIGHLIGHTS

By the age of 11, 91 percent kids have phones in the UK.
Experts consider smartphones and social media as coercive for children.
Children are more attracted to smartphones because of social media.

London: The vast majority of youngsters in the UK had a smartphone by the age of 11, according to data from Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator. Ownership increased from 44% at age nine to 91% at age 11.

While a European study of children's use of digital technology found that this age group had "little or no sense of online risks," there is no evidence to support the negative impacts of smartphone use - and social media apps accessed through them - on older children.

Some experts, however, say that smartphones can be coercive. The hunger for popularity or the attraction to it can prompt the children to take extreme steps in some scenarios.

The researchers discovered that higher social media use at ages 11 to 13 for girls and 14 to 15 for boys predicted lower life satisfaction one year later after analysing data from over 17,000 participants between the ages of 10 and 21. The vice versa for this situation was also discovered to be true.

Children are more attracted to smartphones because of social media.

Experts also believe that the internet and smartphones are essential for children at this time. This enables the children to connect with society in a new way, and know the answers to many questions, but it is important to have control of the parents.

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