According to the research firm In-Stat, about 65 percent of the U.S. population, or more than 200 million people, will have a smartphone by 2015.
Currently, there are more than 400 million smartphone owners on the planet.
I am not one of them.
My friend’s toddler is.
And by is I mean the kid doesn’t just share Mommy’s mobile, he’s got his very own phone to play with and do goodness knows what else, including gnaw on when he gets bored.
Unbelievably (to me anyway), a new study shows that my friend’s tot is not alone when it comes to rocking a smartphone. According to the research firm PlayScience, six percent of kids in the United States ages 2 to 5 have own smartphones.
All their own.
That they don’t have to share, and that actually work.
No hand-me-down junkers from mom or dad. These kids are pimping actual smartphones, and apparently they are quite savvy when it comes to operating them.
And lest you think that your kid is not part of the majority because he just borrows your smartphone from time to time, consider that researchers found nearly 75 percent of children in this country ages 2 to 13 have access to a smartphone and use it regularly. The folks at PlayScience also found that a whopping 50 percent of kids in the U.S. have access to an iPod Touch, more than a quarter use tablets, and a third of kids 10 to 13 have their own smartphones.
According to parents who participated in the study, the high-tech toys are a saving grace when it comes to keeping their kids occupied. The moms and dads make no bones about purchasing the electronic devices for their children and also admit to dropping extra cash to buy apps. According to the research, the majority of parent respondents downloaded between one and five apps in any given month. The study also found that dads paid an average of 45 cents more for phone apps and 75 cents more for tablet apps than moms.
Does your toddler own a smartphone?
Image by: mnn.com
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