A new report has revealed that most children are now phone owners by the age of seven.
According to the CHILDWISE Monitor Report which surveyed 2,167 5 to 16 year-olds, 47 per cent of five to 10-year olds now have a mobile, up 38 per cent from last year.
This number rises to 53 per cent for seven-year olds, as the study also reveals that internet usage among children has grown year-on-year.
Four out of five children between the ages of seven to 16 have access to the internet in their own room, a number which is up four per cent from 2019.
CHILDWISE research director Simon Leggett commented: “Mobile phones have won over tablet computers and now dominate children’s lives.
“However, it can be tough to parent your young child’s use of technology when the mobile phone is such a private and personal technology.
“The moment a child owns a mobile phone, it can be a challenge to monitor what your child is accessing online because it’s such a private technology that most keep, literally, close to their chest.”
Other key findings from the report include that one in four children spend four to six hours online a day and that 71 per cent of children access the internet via their mobile phone.