e-Society
Preference for Internet and mobile phones increase with age
Media activity children would miss the most: by age, 2007, UK
Children said they would miss television the most if all types of media were taken away from them, according to five to 15-year-olds in the UK in 2007. However, preference for television declines with age and preference for the Internet and mobile phone increases with age.
For children aged five to seven and eight to 11, the television would be missed by 64 per cent and 52 per cent respectively. A much lower proportion of these age groups would miss the Internet (3 per cent of those aged five to seven and 11 per cent of those aged eight to 11) and the mobile phone (1 per cent of those aged five to seven and 5 per cent of those aged eight to 11). For children aged 12 to 15, missing the television the most had decreased to 29 per cent with around a quarter missing the mobile phone and Internet (25 per cent and 24 per cent respectively).
In 2007, 56 per cent of children aged eight to 11 and 90 per cent of those aged 12 to 15 used a mobile phone. Sending text messages was the most common activity performed by those with a mobile phone. Over six in 10 (61 per cent) children aged eight to 11 and just under nine in 10 (87 per cent) aged 12 to 15 sent text messages at least once a week. The next most common activity was making calls (44 per cent of those aged eight to 11 and 69 per cent of those aged 12 to 15).
The Internet was used at home by 65 per cent of children aged eight to 11 and 75 per cent aged 12 to 15. School work was the most common activity carried out at home at least once a week for both age groups (55 per cent and 75 per cent respectively). This was followed by looking for information about things that interested them (54 per cent and 63 per cent respectively). Social networking sites were popular for children aged 12 to 15 where over half (55 per cent) visited these kinds of sites from home on the Internet at least once a week. Over a third of children aged 12 to 15 visited a social networking site every day (37 per cent) while a fifth visited every other day. Girls are more likely than boys to visit these sites every day (41 per cent and 32 per cent respectively).
Uses of social networking sites: by children aged 12 to 15, 2007, UK
In 2007, over a half (55 per cent) of children aged 12 to 15 who used the Internet at home had created a page or profile on a social networking site, which equates to two in five of all this age group in the UK. Children aged 12 to 15 used social networking sites mainly as a communication tool for existing relationships, such as talking to friends or family they either see a lot (75 per cent) or rarely see (45 per cent). Over a third of children used social networking sites to listen to music or find out about particular bands (37 per cent) and to look at other people’s pages without leaving a message (36 per cent), while nearly a quarter of children used these sites to look for old friends or people they had lost touch with (23 per cent).
printer-friendly
Focus on Children and Young People