90% of ten year old Norwegians have their own mobile phone

^{New mobile survey from Telenor} 90% of ten year old Norwegians have their own mobile phone

22 Dec 2007 at 18:28 GMT Timo Poropudas

60 percent of 10-14 year old Norwegian children teach their parents how to use a mobile phone. This is one of several findings in a new mobile survey from Telenor.

The survey shows that children receive mobile phones earlier, and before parents think it is ok. The division is clearest for 10 year olds: almost all 10 year olds have a mobile phone.

According to a survey carried out by Opinion for Telenor, children get their first mobile phone earlier than before.

"The trend with younger and younger mobile users highlights the importance of an early focus on healthy mobile use and safety for children and adults," says Ric Brown, Head of Mobile Private at Telenor.

At the age of 10, most children (88 per cent) have their own mobile phone, according to the survey. Four years ago, 52 per cent of 10 year olds had a mobile phone. In addition, 71 per cent of 9 year olds own or have access to a mobile phone, compared with 57 per cent last year. As many boys as girls have a mobile telephone.

Attitudes to when children should have a mobile have changed considerably only in recent years. The threshold for mobile phones is now 10 years of age, and the percentage of parents who think it is acceptable for their children to have a mobile, increases from 22 to 56 in the transition from nine to ten years. By comparison, in 2002 approximately 11 per cent of parents thought it were acceptable to give a 10 year old a mobile.

But parents still give their children mobile phones before they are actually ready for it themselves, the survey shows. While 93 per cent of 11 year olds get a mobile phone, only 63 per cent of parents say they want to give their children a mobile at that age. When the child is 12 years old, 81 per cent of parents think it is OK to give them a mobile phone.

According to the survey, 80 per cent of subscriptions for 11 year olds are registered under a parent's name. This means they can have access to adult or unsuitable content if the child (and age) has not been registered as the user. Even by the age of 17, 63 per cent still have a subscription registered under a parent's name, according to the survey.

With increasingly advanced mobile phones and new services on the market, it is apparent that children teach adults about how to use mobile telephones. According to the survey, 60 per cent of Norwegian 10-14 year olds and 11 per cent of 5-9 year olds teach adults how to use new functions or services on their mobile phone.