The Kids Are Alright: They Have Cell Phones

It's the end of the elementary school day, and a buzz is in the air: the buzz of both dismissal bells and cell phones as kids call and text. Twenty percent of kids ages 6 to 11 now have their own cell phone and the number is climbing  -- it’s up 68 percent in the past five years according to the 2010 Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) American Kids Study findings. In its media blog, Engage: Kids 6-11 looks at the data.

Most kids surveyed cite communication -- calling their parents and friends, emergency purposes and text messaging -- as their top-ranking reasons for cell use. Cell adoption among children is fast-paced: ownership has grown 68 percent in the past five years, and more than 12 percent of parents say they intend to buy a cell phone for their child within the next 12 months.