Expectations and levels of understanding when using mobile phones among 9–11-year olds in Wales, UK

There is growing interest in examining the use of mobile technology among children. The present study extended this literature among a sample of 9–11-year olds in Wales, UK in three ways. First, to examine the level of mobile phone ownership; second, to consider how mobile phones are used, investigate timescales and expectations when communicating via a mobile phone; and third to explore the emotional impact of not having a text or phone call responded to. A sample of 57 children completed a self-report questionnaire focusing on the expectations and levels of understanding when making and receiving mobile phone calls and text messages. Results suggest that ownership and usage of a mobile phone is high amongst young children; however a lack of developmental and emotional maturity, highlighted by the expectation of immediate responses and the egocentric reasons given, may cause unnecessary distress among a proportion of children. Directions for future work are proposed.

92% of children owned a mobile phone. "all participants expected a response to a text, however the immediacy of response differed depending on who the text was from. Only 19.3% expected an immediate response to a text sent to a friend compared to those who expected their primary caregiver to reply straight away (57.9%) or within the same hour (5.3%)... over half (56.1%) of participants thought it was ‘Very important’ or ‘Important’ to respond [TO A TEXT] as soon as possible to avoid being rude... whilst the mobile phone can provide a link to and from a parent/caregiver or a friend, for the child it can increase feelings of confusion and uncertainty especially when a phone call or text is not responded to in a timely manner... young children may be negatively affected by their usage as a result of not being able to consider reasons for any lack of responses to calls or text messages." (Turley ET AL., 2014: 213-14).