June 23, 2004
Me, My Mobile and I
A new generation of mobile users are becoming so emotionally attached to their phones that they cannot live without them, reports the BBC.
"This is one of the key findings of a study into how people use their mobile phones entitled Me, My Mobile and I.
The annual study from research firm Teleconomy reveals that 10 to 14-year-olds - dubbed M-Agers - are rapidly becoming the most sophisticated users of phones.
Even toddlers are able to tell the difference between incoming phone calls and text messages said Professor Michael Hulme, chairman of Teleconomy.
In some cases the phones themselves are becoming 'virtual playgrounds', as children fill their free time with texting their friends and playing games."
Some figures:
-- 26% say they couldn't live without mobile
-- 18% refuse to admit the importance of the mobile in their life
-- 32% see phone as tool rather than intimate object
-- 24% say wouldn't miss mobile if it was taken away
-- 85% of children had personalised phones
-- For children, phones are not so much about communication as a device for downloading things such as pop news, games and ringtones.
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