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Children & their Mobiles
- Presentation to the Handheld Learning Conference, London, October 2007.
- By Robert Hart

Most adults accept mobile phones as a liberating technology, but find quirky ringtones and loud train conversations intrusive. Young children, however, seem to embrace them with unqualified enthusiasm.

We were interested in how the children in our Protected Online Learning Communities used their phones, particularly with an eye on their educational and social potential, so we asked a sample of 1,477 of the 6 to 13 year olds in SuperClubsPLUS.com and GoldStarCafe.net about their use of mobile phones.

Age of adoption
We know little about children’s ownership of mobile phones in the UK, and what we think we know goes quickly out of date as more children take them up, at a younger age, and do more and more with them. We now expect to see teenagers with their phones, but at what age do younger children start to join the mobile revolution? What other mobile and handheld devices do they have access to?
My_Mobile_07_Pres_2.0.pdf, 7470
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Children's use
How autonomous are children in their use of mobile phones - for example, do parents or children have control of their spending on calls? Who do they call - can they call anyone they want to? Where and when do they use their mobiles most - at home, in the evenings or at weekends? Do they use them at school?
New functions are constantly appearing. What do children do with their phones - texting, taking pictures, making videos, sending stuff to friends?

Safety
We are increasing aware of the dangers of unprotected mobile communications, with plenty of evidence of abuse, such as commercial exploitation through download scams, bullying, invasion of privacy and reputation assault, unwanted sexual harassment and grooming. How do the dangers of mobile communications impact on younger children? Do children get bad messages or calls? Do they come across unsuitable or upsetting content?

The Future
Finally - what do kids want phones and mobile devices to do for them in the future?

Download the Quicktime movie, left.