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UK's children are most prolific texters: report

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Press Trust of India London

The figure for boys and girls aged between 12 and 15 is nearly four times the UK average of 50 texts a week.

Girls were more enthusiastic texters than boys, according to the survey from telecom regulator Ofcom.

Girls between 12 and 15 send more than 30 texts a day - 35 per cent more than boys in the same age group - and some older girls send an average of 221 messages a week.

But younger children are also sending far more texts than last year, researchers found.

The average child aged between eight and 11 sends 41 texts a week - double the number sent in 2011, when the figure was 23, the Daily Mail reported.

 

The report discovered there has been an explosion in the use of tablet computers among children of all ages.

Researchers found that the number of children aged between five and 15 using tablets has tripled since last year.

Fourteen per cent of all children now use a tablet at home. More are also using the Internet.

"Our latest research shows that children's take-up and use of different media is growing at a rapid pace, with some areas such as texting and smartphone ownership fast outstripping the general population," Claudio Pollack, Ofcom's consumer group director, said.

"However, children are not just using more media. They are also adopting some forms at a very young age.

"This highlights the challenge that some parents face in keeping up with their children when it comes to technology and in understanding what they can do to protect children.'

"The number of children in the 12 to 15 age bracket who own a smartphone has increased by 50 per cent since last year. Now nearly two-thirds of children in this age group have one - up 41 per cent compared with last year.

This is far higher than the UK average for adults of 45 per cent.

Mobile phones are the most vital device for them - even more important than TV, the report said.

  

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First Published: Oct 23 2012 | 8:45 PM IST

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