Mobile phones and health.
Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 7:17 pmONE in 10 children under 16 uses a mobile phone for more than 45 minutes every day, despite believing that it could be a health hazard.
The finding comes just a year after a Government report recommended that the widespread use of mobile phones by children for non-essential calls should be discouraged.
Tony Sherborne, an education researcher at Sheffield Hallam University, surveyed 1,000 school children. He found that nine out of 10 aged 11 to 15 owned a mobile phone, compared with seven out of 10 adults.
Although most children used their cellphone for less than 15 minutes a day, nearly a quarter used it for more, he said. More than one in 20 spent more than an hour a day on a mobile phone.
Mr Sherborne called the findings "worrying" and added that many teenagers appeared to be ignoring the message that mobile phone use could be harmful for them, even though the majority believed the research into mobile phone safety.
The finding comes just a year after a Government report recommended that the widespread use of mobile phones by children for non-essential calls should be discouraged.
Tony Sherborne, an education researcher at Sheffield Hallam University, surveyed 1,000 school children. He found that nine out of 10 aged 11 to 15 owned a mobile phone, compared with seven out of 10 adults.
Although most children used their cellphone for less than 15 minutes a day, nearly a quarter used it for more, he said. More than one in 20 spent more than an hour a day on a mobile phone.
Mr Sherborne called the findings "worrying" and added that many teenagers appeared to be ignoring the message that mobile phone use could be harmful for them, even though the majority believed the research into mobile phone safety.