By 
It should come as no shocker that smartphone use among teens is increasing rapidly. In a world where parents are occupying their newborn children with iPhones and adolescents are getting their first cell phone at earlier and earlier ages, a growing prevalence of smartphones is expected (especially when cheap to free Android devices are rapidly replacing feature phones).
How much growth are we talking? In 2011, 23 percent of US teens owned a smartphone. In 2012 the number grew to 37 percent. 23 percent of teens use their phones for the majority of their internet access. That’s compared to only 15 percent of adults.
The survey conducted by Pew Research Center and American Life Project demonstrates that the smartphone is quickly phasing out the personal computer as the prime means of connectivity. Researcher Mary Madden notes that teens tend to be the trend setters for things like technology, internet use, and social media, so the data is not insignificant. As smartphones continue to dominate the mobile industry, their usage will become the norm rather than a luxury.
[via Reuters]
If smartphone existed in school when I was going my C+ in P.E. would probably be a D-.
I wonder if anyone can sum up the extra dollar amount one pays annually for electricity when upgrading a feature phone that lasts 5 days to a smartphone that’s dead weight after a day.
Not much difference. Dumb or smartphone energy use is a pittance compared to most other appliances.
To use the Galaxy S3’s 3.7V 2100mAh battery for example: It contains 7770 milliwatt-hours of energy (3.7*2100), or 7.8 watt-hours, or 0.008 kWh. In NYC, I pay something like 18 cents per kWh, so, for $1 I could ideally charge my phone about 715 times.
(Of course, this isn’t factoring in many things like the conversion waste from the wall wart charger, so actual energy use is probably higher, but still, it’s chump change)
“Smartphone use among teens a growing trend”…more breaking news, water is wet
its all iPhones… thats the bad part….. coming from a ten with an S3
Yep, my nephew had an Android phone but really wanted an IPhone 5. $300 later he doesn’t like it any better than his El cheapo Android phone but it what he has to have to be cool to other 12 year olds.
And 100% of the parents who buy a smartphone for a kid without them earning it are f*****g r******d.
i worked hard to get my first smartphone on VIrgin mobile (optimus v) and i worked hard o work my way up from there. not hat im in a place where VM has little to no service my dad bought me an S3 for verizon
note my disclaimer “without them earning it”.
I see no issue to a teen wanting to have the latest and greatest, I object to parents pandering to these whiny brats who expect the world to hand everything to them on a silver platter. If you earned it, good, you are one of the few kids out there with a head on their shoulders. Keep up the good work, kid.
Hugs n kisses.
Manbo the crusty Gen X’er
thank you! good sir!
back when i was a teen if i wanted a phone it was well go get a job and buy one yourself so i was stuck with a prepaid and back then prepaid was horrible blackberrys barley stared to show up on contract carriers. i had a motorola v120 on tracphone $0.60/min $0.30/ text no internet capabilities and i was proud to have it. now i see all these teens crying because their parents wont buy them the latest icrap. something has gone wrong in this country.
Parents stopped beating their kids.
Sometimes the thought of the shoe/slipper/belt/whatever was readily available was the only thing that kept me from doing something reeeeaaaaaally stupid. Then after when I thought about it, I realized just how dumb it was and that I was glad I had those doubts instilled in me.
It was those threats that helped form decision making and to always measure twice and cut once. Kids now just do whatever they feel like because all they’re going to get is a talking to. *shrug* I’d probably be dead or in jail if I was left to my own devices growing up lol. (and I wasn’t a bad kid. I just like to test the waters… of everything.)
Exactly now.it’s a crime to beet your kids every generation before this.one got beat and they turned out better than this one at least the older I get the better outlook I will have in the professional world since the new generation will be so undisciplined.
lol… aren’t we just a couple of old fogies b******g about how good things were back in the day! hahahaha…
Yeah and the sad thing is.I’m only 25 I’m probably the last of the batch that was raised right
your probably not cool if you don’t own an iPhone or a galaxy. even less cool if you don’t have any cell phone. i bet kids are bullying over what kind of smart phone other kids don’t have
It would be interesting to know what is the current trend among these teenagers. I was surprised when my daughter said in 2012 for the renewal of her phone that she prefer Android phone. I though most of teens are flocked to iPhone. For the record, after she got Galaxy Nexus and got used to Android Jelly Bean, she said it’s much better than iPhone. No more dependency on iTune to load music was also a “feature” she likes.
…
LOL, this exact image came to mind when I read the title of this article!
and I’m not surprised, what teen wouldn’t want a smartphone anyway?