What is the right age for a child to get a mobile phone? Does your child have a cellphone? A few recent studies have shed light on the average percentage of child mobile users worldwide.
While developed countries see a higher percentage of child users of mobile phones, this number drops for developing countries. Have a look below.
Europe
In Europe, 46% of children aged 9 to 16 have their own smartphone, and 33% just have a standard mobile phone, which puts the total percentage of children who have a cellphone at almost 80%, according to a study in the journal New Media & Society in 2015. Some years have passed since the study was done in 2014, so the numbers today are likely to be higher.
In Germany, 51% of children from age 6 to 13 report having their own mobile phone, according to a 2016 report by the Media Education Research Association Southwest.
The USA
45% of children in the US aged 10 to 12 have a cellular contract, according to a Nielsen report released this February.
Africa
According to a study published in the Journal of International Development in 2015, 18.8% of boys and 12.9% of girls in Ghana, aged 9 to 18, own a cellphone.
According to a report published by UNICEF in 2013, 81% of high school students in South Africa own or have access to a mobile phone.
Asia
In South Korea, 72% of children aged 11 to 12 have smartphones, according to a study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
According to a study published in the Journal of the Formosan Medical Association in 2015, 45% of 11-year-old Taiwanese children, and 71% of 15-year-olds had a smartphone.
Australia
A study published in the journal Environmental Health in June 2017 showed that 43% of fourth-year primary school children in Australia owned or used a cellphone.
Should you decide that the time is right for your child to get their first mobile phone, it is important to have a frank conversation about the dangers that mobile phone usage holds for children if they do not use the phone responsibly.
Have your children sign Smartcom’s contract for teenagers and contact us when you’re ready to make your selection.