Younger UK kids are rejecting feature cell phones in favor of tablets, Ofcom reveals

[froggyboy604]

Despite the rise of mobile phones across almost every demographic of UK society, it seems the number of children who own their own handset is going down.

A new report from Ofcom reveals that the number of 5 to 15-year-olds who own a mobile phone has fallen from 49% in 2012 to 43% in 2013. The reason? They’re rejecting basic ‘feature phones’ and getting their parents to buy them tablets instead, with uptake this year tripling – up to 42% from 14% in 2012.

More specifically, the percentage of younger children (8-11) who own a basic feature phone rather than a smartphone fell to 15% this year, from 28% last year.

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Another reason for Tablets being more popular is that kids don't want to be contacted by their parents which could be kind of embarasing espiecally when you are in the 14 an up category, and you get a phone call from your mom to go home when your friends and cool kids are siting next to you.

I prefer tablets as well since there is no monthly fee to pay to use it like a cell phone, and the size of a tablet screen is bigger, so it is more fun to play games, read on, and watch video on a bigger screen.

There are also special edition tablets like the Wikipad which is a lot more fun than any standard smartphone without gaming controls, so a lot of kids and young adults maybe interested in Wikipad Gaming Tablets than a phone which is not as good for gaming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyswTovzJC4

 

[Black Angel]

I wonder how long it'll be before these teens try to use them while driving..

 

[froggyboy604]

There are probably already are teens who use the tablets while driving since there are some legal and safe ways to use a tablet in a car when they use a mount/stand to hold them, or someone else is holding it for them, so they are not holding it when they should be driving.

Tablets have GPS, Maps, Radio apps, and Driving Apps which are useful to inform drivers of where they are, accidents on the road by listening to local internet radio, and Apps which give tips while driving  like warning the driver that they are going too fast on a narrow road.

A few richer teens may drive their parent's car which has a Tablet installed in the dashboard which is more common in luxury cars.

 

[Guardian]

Jeez. My kids won't be getting one unless they buy one with their own money. 

 

[froggyboy604]

I wonder how many kids bought their own tablets with their own money since I go on forums which have kids and teens using Paypal and other methods of payment in exchange for post exchanges on forums, write articles for blogs, and do coding and design for websites and blogs.

There are also sites like Swagbucks, Mypoints, etc where it is easy for kids to earn points to exchange for gift cards, and Paypal payments.

I think more kids can afford to buy a better tablet like the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 2013 which cost $140 compared to the iPhone 5C or faster Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 which can cost $500 and up unless you sign a lengthy 2 year contract where the cell phone company may raise the monthly cost to take more of the subscribers' money in the long run, and you need to pay cancellation fees if you cancel a contract.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

There are probably already are teens who use the tablets while driving since there are some legal and safe ways to use a tablet in a car when they use a mount/stand to hold them, or someone else is holding it for them, so they are not holding it when they should be driving.

Tablets have GPS, Maps, Radio apps, and Driving Apps which are useful to inform drivers of where they are, accidents on the road by listening to local internet radio, and Apps which give tips while driving  like warning the driver that they are going too fast on a narrow road.

A few richer teens may drive their parent's car which has a Tablet installed in the dashboard which is more common in luxury cars.

is that really needed in a car? I don't think it is.

 

[froggyboy604]

is that really needed in a car? I don't think it is.

No it is not.

But, if you don't have a radio, stereo , GPS, Maps, or MP3 player in your car, a tablet could be useful since Car Stereos are very expensive if you include the price of installation, wiring, speakers, amps, and sub woofers. A Chinese branded Tablet can be bought for $80 or less, and comes with speakers, charging cable, battery, and you can remove it from your car's tablet stand/mount, so it does not get stolen, and you can use it to read the news instead of carrying around a laptop or newspaper.

 

[Guardian]

No, but it is useful I am sure. It could also be a HUGE distraction so... I'm not sure if it should be . 

 

[froggyboy604]

I agree it can be a big distraction, but those knobs, and buttons on car stereos, heating, and air conditioning are also very distracting and hard to use on some cars. A Tablet might keep some kids in the passenger seat quiet if there is a movie on the it, or games.

Maybe someone should make an app which hide all the controls when the car is moving, and turn off the screen.

 

[Guardian]

I agree it can be a big distraction, but those knobs, and buttons on car stereos, heating, and air conditioning are also very distracting and hard to use on some cars. A Tablet might keep some kids in the passenger seat quiet if there is a movie on the it, or games.

Maybe someone should make an app which hide all the controls when the car is moving, and turn off the screen.

That shouldn't be an app. that should be standard feature in my opinion. That could be just as bad if not worse as someone texting while driving. 

 

[froggyboy604]

I agree it should be a standard feature on all phones and tablets where all devices with screens shuts off when it is used in the driver seat while the car is moving.