A recent study has found that one in four children under the age of six now owns a smartphone.
Even though most parents believe that 11 years old is the age children should be trusted with a phone, one-quarter of kids aged six and under have their own mobile.
Shockingly half of these children spend up to 21 hours per week on their devices.
Parents are willing to splash the cash as well to make sure their darling children have the best phones on the market, with 77 per cent of parents admitting they paid up to £500 for their child’s first phone with two-thirds saying they don’t cap the monthly spend.
The statistics come from a survey conducted by musicMagpie after they saw a 300 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of customers purchasing refurbished phones as the ‘first phone’ for their child.
Spokesman Liam Howley said:
Smartphones have become the most important piece of technology we own, connecting us with friends, keeping us updated on the world around us, and letting us capture our biggest moments.
While the majority of parents in our study stated 11 was the ‘acceptable’ age for children to have their own phones, we saw that 25 per cent of children aged six and under actually already owned one.
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.
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.
Their study also found that 80 per cent of parents don’t limit the amount of time children spend on their phones while three quarters don’t disable the data function which would restrict their children to only being able to call and text.
Other than making calls and sending messages, 38 per cent of children use their mobile phone to play games. Others like to listen to music, watch videos and use Snapchat.
One-third of parents crumbled when asked by their children for a phone while one in five purchased a phone to keep their child entertained.
Interestingly youngsters (or at least their parents spending the cash) seem to prefer Samsung model phones and they were the most popular ‘first phone’ brand ahead of Apple.
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More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.