Cell phone ownership among children has increased 68% in the past five years, according to MRI’s recently-released American Kids Study. Twenty percent of U.S. children ages 6-11 currently own a cell phone, up from 11.9% of children in 2005.  The most dramatic increase has been among 10-11 year-olds (80.5%). Boys have led the increase, checking in at 47.6% since 2007, compared with a 17.2% increase among girls. And yes, they are texting.  Most use their cells for basic communication tasks, such as calling their parents (88.1%), calling friends (68.1%), emergency purposes (55.7%) and text messaging (54.1%). 

 “This large increase in cell phone ownership, particularly among boys, comes as more wireless providers are targeting parents through feature-rich, kid friendly phones such as Disney Mobile’s LG Phone and the Firefly Communications FlyPhone,” said Anne Marie Kelly, SVP, Marketing & Strategic Planning at MRI.  “Preliminary data suggests that boys and girls may use their phones differently. Girls are more apt to make calls and send text messages while boys are more likely to instant-message, access the Internet and download games, music and video. It will be interesting to explore these data over the next few years and see if this trend continues.”

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