The study was aimed at tracking the evolution in mobile phone use between 2003 and 2006 and measuring potential risks. 2,200 youngsters, aged 9 to 18, filled in a questionnaire. Between 2003 and 2006, the number of Belgian youths possessing a mobile phone increased by 16 %. The possession rates increase with age and are impacted by family status. In general, youngsters receive their mobile phone as a gift from their parents.

Youngsters mainly use prepaid cards to pay for their calls and text messages. Subscriptions remain limited among youth. In general it's the parents who finance access to the mobile phone network. Youths most frequent use their mobile phone to send SMS. Making phone-calls is also very frequent. Playing games decreases as children grow older.

A number of recommendations were linked to the research. Today we see on the market mobile phones for children as young as 4 or 5 years appear. The conclusion is that mobile phones are mainly means for social recognition and identification (and not for communication), even as early as at the age of 9.

Although the cost of use can be kept low by opting for prepaid cards, it is mainly the parents who finance these cards. Often a mobile phone is offered as a 'useful' present on the occasion of a child’s party. Children clearly play the role of dictator (of a certain buying behaviour) to the fullest.

The practices of service suppliers call for a development in the protection of minors. A number of warnings concerning the manipulative character of certain internet practices aimed at young consumers now also apply to the use of mobile phones, given the increasing interaction and convergence between the two. This study can be consulted on our website: www.crioc.be (French) or www.oivo.be (Dutch). A longer text in English with figures and details is available by addressing an email to Safer Internet Belgium (infofr@saferinternet.be for FR and infonl@saferinternet.be for FR) at the attention of Stefaan Hendrickx.

Stefaan Hendrickx, OIVO-CRIOC