PLUGGED-INVISUAL PRESCHOOLERS

CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS FOUR ARE NOW BEING GIVEN THEIR OWN SMARTPHONES, RESEARCH FINDS

Some parents may let their children go on tablets for educational purposes 16,631 UK own children a aged smartphone 4 and 5 years old 9 10 in every children aged 12-15 own at least three media devices

CHILDREN as young as four are being given their own mobile phones.

The news emerged in the latest report on childhood media use by the communications watchdog Ofcom.

It found one per cent of children aged four or five in theuk had a smartphone in 2017 - an estimated 16,631 children in all.

Smartphones allow users to play games, use apps and access social media websites.

The likelihood a child will own one rises rapidly with age, the report found.

Some seven per cent of six and seven year olds had a smartphone, or 106,734 in total.

Among eight and nine year olds, 21 per cent - or 332,469 in total - had a smartphone.

By the time children reach 10 and 11, more than half (58 per cent) have a smartphone. That works out as 1.6 million children.

The data also shows that more than nine in

THE PROPORTION OF EACH AGE RANGE THAT OWNS A SMARTPHONE

1% (4-5 year olds) 7% (6-7 year olds) every 10 children aged 12-15 (94 per cent) own at least three media devices. This includes things like games consoles, laptops, and smartphones. Children in the same age range say they spend around 18 hours a week using their mobile phone. The Ofcom survey is based on parents’ responses. The number of children owning smartphones may actually be higher 21% (8-9 year olds) than the data shows, because some parents might not have admitted that their child owned a smartphone.

Education think tank The Education Policy Institute published a report last year looking at the impact that using social media has on young people’s mental health.

The report said: “Technology is evolving rapidly.

“The increasingly private nature of online activity, with instant messaging and smartphones, means that attempts to isolate young people from all online risks are likely to be ineffective.

“Policy-makers have struggled to keep pace with technological change. 58% (10-11 year olds)

“Successive governments, while having offered guidance and resources, made changes to the curriculum, and implemented strategies to promote safety, are often unable to keep abreast with the fast changing nature of online risk – meaning responses to protect, and build resilience in, young people are inadequate and often outdated.”

Nearly a fifth (19 per cent) of parents said they found it hard to control the amount of time children aged five to seven spent looking at screens.

That rose to a third of parents when considering children aged eight to 11, and 41 per cent of parents of children aged 12 to 15.