Children spend €1.5bn on mobile phones

CHILDREN in Britain are spending a staggering £1 billion (€1.5bn) a year on mobile phones, according to research published yesterday.

The figure was based on a survey, for telecoms billing and customer care company Convergys, that questioned over 1,000 parents, many of whom complained that their offspring were “obsessed” with their mobiles.

Nearly 20% of parents said their child “couldn’t live without their phone”.

Almost half said they were always being told by their children that they are low or out of credit and one-in-10 wish they could take their child’s phone away.

Four in 10 parents said they were worried about the level of their children’s spending on mobile phones and one in 10 said their child had got into trouble at school because of a mobile.

However, 70% felt more secure knowing they could reach their child.

The spending figure was based on the number of children in Britain, assuming 90% of them over the age of 10 have phones and spend an average of £12.60 (€18.60) per month.