Shock study: Quarter of children 6 and under own a smartphone

LONDON — How young is too young when it comes to owning a smartphone? Believe it or not, according to a new study, a quarter of children six and under actually own a mobile device.

Researchers with musicMagpie, a company that helps people declutter by selling their unwanted electronics online, conducted the study after they noted a 300% increase year-over-year in customers who were buying first-time phones for their children. A third of parents made the purchase simply because their kids asked, while one in five bought it to keep the little ones entertained.

Child playing with smartphone
How young is too young when it comes to owning a smartphone? Believe it or not, according to a new study, a quarter of children six and under actually own a mobile device.

Though the study didn’t indicate how many parents were surveyed, the results showed that most agreed 11 was the “ideal” age for children to receive their first smartphone. Nonetheless, the stunning findings showed 25% of parents purchased devices for children six and under. What’s worse, nearly half of those kids spent as much as 21 hours per week on the devices.

“The age at which children get their first phones, has got even younger, and while many agree that there’s no defined age to give a child a phone, there’s a lot parents can do to ensure their child’s day-to-day life isn’t consumed by one,” says musicMagpie spokesman Liam Howley in a press release.

Clearly, parents being more proactive with their children when it comes to screen time would be a good start for help. Eight in 10 parents surveyed said they don’t limit the amount of time their kids can use their smartphones.

“From restricting the time they spend on the device, to keeping a close eye on what they are downloading, there are many steps parents can go through to limit usage,” says Howley.

Another option would be to disable the data function, allowing kids to only used their phones to make calls or send texts. Just a quarter of parents take advantage of this feature, the study found.

Comments

  1. Smart Phones = Dumb Kids

    Some entering kindergarten don’t even know how books work. You know: pages that turn and are in sequential order. I know, I teach.

  2. I assure you, no child 7 or under “owns” a cell phone. They may use one their Moms and Dads gave them or use an older siblings, etc. But they do NOT own a phone or anything for that matter. If this country hasn’t gotten completely rid of Obamacare (yet), have we at least killed the Obamaphone program? Please tell me we have.

  3. Smartphones drastically reduce attention spans and the ability to learn. By the time these darlings get to college, they will be damn near retarded and emotionally fragile. Is this the kind of child you want to raise? If so, keep letting them rub on that smartphone. The consequences to society are coming. As these kids enter the workforce, it will be a disaster. Most of them can’t even walk from A to B without shuffling along looking at Facebook. If you don’t already know, consider this your warning: kids who are raised by smartphones will end up as failures.

  4. The only thing left that is white and diversity can’t steal are the number of patents in the patent office. Over 94% are White, and we all know who invented the light bulb, the auto, airplane, radio, tv, etc.

  5. These parents are damaging their kids childhood by giving them phones. But then most of those same parents can’t talk….they’re already addicted ! They’ll simply encourage their little ones to adopt the same mentality as them. How irresponsible.

    I have NEVER had a mobile phone of any sort. Don’t want one and never intend to get one. They’re one of the worst inventions ever made, in my opinion. I look at what they’ve done to those that use them, and I know I made the right choice. I’ll stick to my landline and answering machine. I will not be at everyone’s beck and call 24 hours a day.

    This is what this insidious device has done to our society – watch the video ; http://www.renegadetribune.com/welcome-happy-world-everlasting-deceit/


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