ROBERT CRIBB AND TYLER HAMILTON
STAFF REPORTERS
Cellphone use by children has grown more than 140 per cent since 2001 and is set to expand even further as wireless companies target young people with phones bearing images such as Barbie, suggests a new international survey obtained by the Toronto Star.
Many children interviewed for the study, called Future of the Internet According to Kids, said the major allure of cellphones is their "cool" factor.
"They're a status symbol," says Patricia Camp, senior research analyst with Milwaukee-based SpectraCom, which interviewed 933 young people, aged 8 to 14, from across the United States, Canada and Europe. The survey is considered accurate within plus or minus 3 1/2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
The survey shows that young cellphone users spend an average of two hours a day talking on the devices, mostly to parents and friends. That level of daily cellphone chatter among young people is a growing concern to some scientists who see unanswered questions about the long-term health impact of wireless signals, particularly on children, because of their thinner skulls and developing nervous systems.
The wireless industry says cellphones are safe, that no scientific evidence links the devices to health impacts and that all phones sold in Canada meet or exceed emission standards.
"We are told to adhere to limits Health Canada establishes," says Peter Barnes, chief executive of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. "We have and will continue to adhere to those limits .... That limit has no references to time or moderation...."
After a Star series on the issue began, top health officials, including Dr. Sheela Basrur, the province's chief public health officer, and Dr. David Butler-Jones, who heads the Public Health Agency of Canada, urged caution around non-essential use of cellphones by children.
Camp says: "Parents get phones for their kids for safety and emergencies. But when you ask the kids, they say it's just cool to have one."
The study was conducted from June 30 to July 11, and SpectraCom, an online marketing and survey firm, has not released the results publicly.
The Star investigation found that the wireless industry is increasingly marketing to children despite these health uncertainties that scientists say could take decades to prove or disprove.
The wireless industry is expected to sell 779 million cellphones globally in 2005 and is on target to selling 1 billion annually by 2009, according to a recent report by research consultancy Gartner Inc.
Gartner estimates 2.6 billion cellphones will be in use worldwide by 2009, which would make them "the most common consumer electronics devices on the planet."
Among an emerging crop of child-targeted phones are devices branded with images of Disney characters and Hilary Duff.
Rogers Wireless is set to launch the child-focused Firefly phone, featuring colourful images and pre-programmed buttons, on Aug. 9. Telus Mobility already has a pink, fake-diamond-clustered Baby Phat phone popular with female tweens. And all three Canadian wireless firms have video and game cellphone content aimed at youngsters.
The survey asked children about their awareness of the new youth-focused phones and found mixed results: 34 per cent of respondents said they liked the youth-branded phones better than traditional cellphones; another 23 per cent said they had no preference; and 43 per cent said they liked the new phones less than regular cellphones.
"Certainly, down the road, we'll be looking at branded phone opportunities," said Paula Lash, a spokesperson for Virgin Mobile Canada. "Worldwide, everywhere, the company has been so successful because it has had a single-minded focus on the youth market. The spirit of the Virgin Mobile brand is all about youth."
She defined the youth market as 16 to 24, but said the Virgin brand appeals to even younger consumers.
"We're looking at things like expanding our distribution so we can get deeper into that youth market."
Contrary to some media reports, Lash said no discussions are underway to sell a Mattel Barbie phone through Virgin Mobile Canada, but said that could change in such a competitive market.
"I don't know what's going to happen six months from now."
Ironically, British billionaire and Virgin Mobile founder Richard Branson expressed concern in the late 1990s about potential health impacts of cellphones.
In November 1998, speaking to the Sunday Times in London, Branson said he suspected cellphone use contributed to the development of a brain tumour that killed his close friend, British financier Michael von Clemm.
"The particular type of tumour he had and its position was consistent with where the phone would be," Branson told the Times.
Nearly two years later, in an interview with Larry King, Branson confirmed that all staff at Virgin Group had been told, as a precautionary measure, to use headsets with their cellphones.
"And we also only sell phones which are hands-free," Branson told King.
The Star asked Branson to comment on the issue now, but he was unavailable.
Will Whitehorn, spokesperson for Virgin Group, said emission levels from cellphones have dropped steadily over the last decade and, after considerable worldwide research during this period, the company is satisfied there is no "measurable link" to health effects.
Whitehorn added that all cellphones sold by Virgin Mobile companies — including Virgin Mobile Canada — have a hands-free speaker feature, giving concerned users the option of talking without holding the phones to their heads. Users in Canada must buy headsets separately.
Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited