It's as if the two just-released studies – from Nielsen and the Pew Internet Project – about US smartphone use were timed to Apple's unveiling of the iPhone 5 (a quick list of what's new about it at the New York Times) this week. Nielsen says that, not only do most of US cellphone owners use smartphones, but now the majority of teen cellphone owners in the US have them – a higher percentage of … [Read more...] about Majority of US teens’ mobiles are smartphones
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Mobile parenting 2.0
There are some good mobile parenting pointers on the Web these days, one example being "Five things to do before giving your teenager a smartphone." But – practically speaking – these are just useful talking points in the broader, on-going conversation families need to have about how social-media tools like phones can be used to connect with others kindly, meaningfully, and successfully in … [Read more...] about Mobile parenting 2.0
FTC finds kid apps’ privacy practices ‘disAPPointing’
The US Federal Trade Commission has turned this week's wakeup call about mobile-app privacy into a conference call, adding kids' privacy to the conversation. The title of its just-released report "Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures are Disappointing" (that's the FTC authors' cute italicization) summarizes the Commission's conclusions well. But to make their point crystal clear, the … [Read more...] about FTC finds kid apps’ privacy practices ‘disAPPointing’
Teens’ cellphone data use tripled in past year
On average, teens exchange 3,417 messages per month, or "seven text messages per waking hour," Nielsen found in an analysis of data from more than 65,000 cellphone subscribers. Teens have "tripled their data use in the past year," but "data use across all age groups nearly doubled," the Washington Post reports in its coverage. "Survey participants ages 13-17 used an average of 90 MB per month in … [Read more...] about Teens’ cellphone data use tripled in past year
Cyberbullying’s offline roots: Research
The research evidence is growing that cyberbullying on cellphones and in social sites is more symptomatic of what's going on at school than a separate problem on the Internet. The US Department of Education's report for the 2008-'09 school year shows a high correlation between cyberbullying and physical bullying at school: "A higher percentage of students ages 12 through 18 who reported being … [Read more...] about Cyberbullying’s offline roots: Research