Kids’ Usage of Smartphones and Tablets Outpaces All Other Electronics
Seventy-one percent of households with a child age 4-14 reported owning a smartphone in 2014, up from 55% in 2012, according to NPD Group. Furthermore, incidence of ownership of media tablets has reportedly doubled between 2012 and 2014, growing from 21% to 43%, respectively. Among those with kids in the household, 35% said that their child uses a smartphone, up from 21% in 2012. For media tablets, the figure was 31%, up from 13% in 2012.
Personal ownership of consumer electronic devices among children age 4-14 slightly bucks the trend the data have shown thus far, in that portable devices were the only device group to exhibit steady increases in ownership among the children themselves. Rather than growing, incidence of personal ownership of cell phones, including traditional cell phones and smartphones, reportedly held steady at 19% in 2014.