More young children than ever have mobile phones
Mobile phone ownership among British children of primary-school age has soared to almost 60 percent in the past year, new data shows.
Some 57 percent of seven to 11 year olds now have a mobile phone, compared to just 43 percent 12 months ago, according to figures from Halifax. The increasing number of younger children with a mobile phone has pushed the overall ownership figure for children aged seven to 16 to 77 percent -- up from 68 percent in 2005.
Mobile phone ownership among older children -- those aged 12 to 16 -- has remained static at 94 percent in the past 12 months.
On a regional basis, children in London are the biggest mobile phone owners -- 97 percent have one, against just 56 percent of those in the West Midlands.
There has also been an increase in the number of parents paying for their offspring's mobile phone usage.
