British 5 yr olds given cell phones

[Guest guest]

Five-year-olds given mobiles

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3141195.stm

 

Mobile phone

Hundreds of thousands of young children are being given mobile phones by

their parents - against official health advice.

Research by marketing consultancy reveals that one in nine five to

nine-year-olds has a mobile.

 

It predicts that this will rise to one in five by 2006, making this the

fastest expanding group of mobile phone users.

 

A major report on mobile phone safety says that while there is no evidence

that they are harmful, children should minimise their use of mobiles as a

" precaution " .

 

This is because their brains are still developing and their skulls are

thinner, making it easier for mobile phone radiowaves to penetrate them.

 

I don't think that the industry is actively marketing mobile phones at

young children. It would be unethical

 

Josh Dhaliwal, mobileYouth

Mobile phone companies say they do not target under-16s, although some

accessories such as fascias and ringtones are designed to appeal to younger

children.

 

Many of the phones are paid for as a safety measure so that the child always

has a means of contacting a parent in an emergency.

 

In the year 2000, according to the mobileYouth researchers, fewer than

80,000 five to nine-year-olds owned a mobile.

 

This year, that had risen to 400,000.

 

'No marketing'

 

Josh Dhaliwal, an executive partner at mobileYouth, told BBC News Online: " I

don't think that the industry is actively marketing mobile phones at young

children. It would be unethical.

 

We have to be particularly cautious about children - if there are any

effects they would be more exaggerated in young children than in adults

 

Professor Colin Blakemore, University of Oxford

" This has become the fastest growing sector of the mobile phone market

without any help from advertising.

 

" Pester power is starting to increase in that age group as children see that

their friends have a mobile phone. "

 

Cautious

 

Professor Colin Blakemore, from the University of Oxford, who studies the

effects of mobile phone radiation, said that parents should be very cautious

about letting very young children use mobile phones.

 

He told the BBC: " There is no proven heath risk from the use of mobile

phones at present.

 

 

They can be a fashion accessory to children

" In general we take a precautionary approach because it's new technology

and the science is still developing.

 

" We have to be particularly cautious about children - if there are any

effects they would be more exaggerated in young children than in adults. "

 

He said that children should keep use to a minimum, and if possible use text

messages rather than spoken conversations, as this would reduce the amount

of exposure to radiowaves considerably.