Teens obsessed with smartphones - report

Researcher Retrobrick claims old models now sell like hot cakes at auction.

Researcher Retrobrick claims old models now sell like hot cakes at auction.

Published Aug 7, 2011

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Belfast - It's not the PlayStation anymore. Nor is it Nintendo's Wii videogame console, the Xbox, or even the iPod. No, the new craze sweeping the teenage nation is far more compelling - and evidently much more 'this season' - than any of those.

Welcome to 'Generation Smartphone': a world in which 60 percent of 13 to 19-year-olds admit to being “highly addicted” to their iPhones or Blackberrys.

In its latest annual Communications Market Report, Ofcom has revealed the extent to which Northern Ireland has become obsessed with smartphones.

The statistics show that teenagers are ditching traditional activities, with 23 percent foregoing TV and 15 percent dismissing books in favour of online pursuits.

Ofcom also found that users of handsets like the iPhone, inspired by Steve Jobs and his boffins at Apple, make 28 percent more calls than those with more traditional apparatus.

And it revealed that use of social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter in Northern Ireland has doubled since 2008 with half of people accessing them regularly.

Customers are going online for everyday needs and tasks, with half watching television, video or checking bank accounts, and a third searching for information on health-related issues.

The annual Communications Market Report said more people were embracing the internet.

Ofcom Northern Ireland director Jonathan Rose said: “Over the last five years we have seen Northern Ireland catch up and in some cases overtake the rest of the UK in the use of the latest communications services.”

Ofcom conducted 511 interviews in Northern Ireland last winter, split between urban and rural areas.

Its findings revealed:

92 percent use a mobile phone, almost a quarter a smartphone like iPhone or Blackberry;

47 percent use social networking sites regularly, compared to 22 percent in 2008;

53 percent watch television or video online;

51 percent use internet banking.

Psychologist Carmel Rodgers said that people apparently feel the need to be in touch with the outside world and each other at all times.

“It's a sign of the times we live in,” said Ms Rodgers, a Belfast-based chartered professional.

“Smartphones and their stablemates Twitter and Facebook are completely revolutionising our society - and not necessarily for the better.

“In fact, recent research into cyber-technology has shown that social networking and its availability can become an addiction for some people.”

Ms Rodgers, a leading practitioner, also said that the importance of its impact - both positive and negative - is directly linked to its global reach.

“Social networking and the associated technological framework has been found to limit the amount of friends people have, as well as their ability to socialise, particularly when it comes to children today,” she added.

“There is also a correlation between cyber-technology and the decrease in the quality of contact between people at home and at work.” -

Belfast Telegraph

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