At the moment Google services are age-restricted (to over 13-years old in the United States; over 16 in the Netherlands for example). However, this may be set to change. Reports suggest that any such rollout will be accompanied by parent monitoring options.
Tech-savvy children
According to the latest Ofcom figures, the UK's 14-15 year olds are the most digitally knowledgeable age group and - wait for it!
- The UK's six-year olds are (marginally) more tech-savvy than 45-year olds!
The research also discovered:
- 16-24 year olds multitask so effectively they are 'cramming 14 hours of digital media/communications into nine hours a day'
- Only 3% of 12-15 year olds make phone calls
With telephones accounting for such a small percentage of communication for 12-15 year olds, text and instant messages account for 94%. Which leads us on to:
Instant messaging growth driven by teenagers
Research by Deloitte suggests that 300 billion instant messages will be sent in the UK in 2014. An average person will send 7 texts a day but a massive 46 instant messages. The growth in IM is accounted for by flirty teenagers. "Teenage romance is appropriating technology for its needs."
Teenagers ignoring your calls
And finally, for parents who really want their children to answer their calls, here's a story about an app that blocks them from using their phones until they return you call. So uncool!
Via Mashable; endgadget; BGR.com; Silicon Republic; ITProPortal; Bitter Wallet; The Guardian; ITProPortal.