James Delahunty
25 Nov 2011 6:22
Survey finds British oppose mobile phone ownership amongst young kids.
The poll of 2,000 people found that almost three quarters of them felt it was inappropriate for a child aged below 12 years to own a mobile phone. The survey, which was carried out by Recombu.com, noted that up to 79 percent of children in Britain, aged between 7 and 11 years, already own a mobile phone.
Concerns about children having mobile phones range from the prospect of expensive bills, unmonitored Internet use and a lack of easy parental controls, yet up to 90 percent of parents liked the idea of a child having a mobile phone in case of emergency.
More than 1 in 10 admitted they would buy a new phone for a child as encouragement for good behaviour or good results at school.
"It is reassuring for parents to be in constant contact with their children, but there are clearly concerns about just how careful a young child will be with their own mobile phone," Hannah Bouckley, editor of Recombu, said.