Continuing on with our series of articles about the use of smartphones and tablets by young people in schools, we found this article from the BBC to be quite revealing.
Fifty per cent of the UK's 10-year-olds owned a smartphone in 2019, according to a report by media regulator Ofcom.
The amount of young phone owners doubled between the ages of nine and 10, which Ofcom dubbed "the age of digital independence." In addition, 24% of 3 and 4-year-olds had their own tablet, and 15% of them were allowed to take it to bed.
Ofcom's annual report looks at the media habits of children, and the types of devices they are using.
The most worrying thing from this article to me is the amount of children that are allowed to take their phones/tablets to bed. Every bit of research I have seen suggests this is a bad idea and will inhibit a child getting a good night sleep.
What do you think? Is this level of smartphone ownership by 10 year olds surprising? Do you think the percentage would be more or less in Hong Kong?
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