GSMA and NTT DOCOMO Announce the Findings of Study on Children and Mobile Phone Use

Mobile Phone Use by Children Demonstrates a Strong Consistent Pattern Bridging Cultural, Financial and Social Divides

GSMA and NTT DOCOMO research shows trends and patterns in ownership, usage and attitude amongst children

8 July, 2010, London: The GSMA and NTT DOCOMO’s Mobile Society Research Institute (MSRI) today announced trends from a comparative study into the use of mobile phones by children in six widely different countries (Japan, Korea, China, India, Mexico and Cyprus) and the effect that mobile phone usage has on them. Approximately 6,000 pairs of respondents were interviewed, each consisting of a child aged between eight and 18 and parent or guardian.

The report shows clearly how mobile is bridging cultural, social and financial divides between the world’s children. For youth, mobile has emerged as a truly universal service, with all surveyed markets showing children’s use of the mobile Internet now exceeding their parent’s. There are also clear similarities despite socio-economic background for example, messaging far outweighs voice calls and is used four times more by children in Japan than by their parents; in all countries surveyed the age at which mobile use rises substantially is 13  in line with entry to junior high school and in all countries the majority of children own a phone by the age of 15.

The GSMA and NTT DOCOMO’s ongoing collaboration, into understanding better children’s use of mobile phones, has highlighted the rapid rise in penetration of mobile among the youth market. Analysis of the results provides an insight into some of the social impacts of the mobile phenomenon on young people, many of whom take their use of mobile in daily communication, relationship building and social interaction entirely for granted.

Children show profound differences in their use of mobiles compared with their parents, leading to an interesting insight into trends for the future as these children become young adults. By age 14, around 40 per cent of children use mobile as the main way to access the Internet, with a huge 70 per cent of Japanese children citing this. This unprecedented access reinforces the importance of educating all users about the importance of a safer mobile Internet experiences.

The report shows that, as the unique and lively communication world of children continues to evolve; this sort of benchmarking will have an increasingly valuable role, particularly in identifying and tracking trends and impacts across different countries and cultural environments. The purpose of the survey is to shed light on the comparative state of mobile phone usage by children, its role in relationships between children and their parents, between children and their friends, and how children’s social attitudes are affected by their use of communications.

Key findings:

Ownership

• In all countries, ownership of mobile phones increases at entry to junior high school
• In Korea and Cyprus, approximately 90 per cent of children own a mobile by the age of 13, this figure is much lower at 40-60 per cent of children in the other four countries
• Ownership increases progressively, reaching 80 to 90 per cent by high school age (16+)

Usage

• The use of messaging by mobile phone varies from a minimum of 20 messages sent in China and received per day and a maximum of 60 (in Korea and Cyprus)
• Japan has a particularly high ratio of messages to calls, with children sending and receiving between 15 and 20 times as many messages as voice calls
• As age increases, the use of mobile phone messaging also increases
• Children’s use of the mobile internet peaks at 70 per cent of 14 year olds in Japan

Relationships

• In all countries, the main method for child-parent mobile communication is voice calling, contrasting sharply with how children communicate with friends
• Children communicate more with mothers using their mobile phone than fathers
• The more children communicate with their parents, the more they trust them

-ENDS-

The full report can be downloaded at: “Children’s Use of Mobile Phones 2010 – An International Comparison”

About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations.
www.gsmworld.com

(07/15/2010)