Mobile phone ownership and use among school children in three Hungarian cities

In spite of rapid worldwide increase in mobile phone use and public concerns about associated potential health effects, little is known about patterns of mobile phone ownership and use in the general population and among children. In April 2005, we conducted a survey of mobile phone ownership and use among fourth grade school children in three Hungarian cities. From 24 schools, 1301 student filled out a short, self-administered questionnaire on basic demographics, mobile phone ownership, pattern of mobile phone use, and after-school activities. Overall, 989 students (76%) owned a mobile phone. Three hundred thirteen students (24%) used a mobile phone daily to make phone calls, and an additional 427 students (33%) used mobile phones for phone calls at least several times per week. Sixty-six students (5%) sent text messages daily and an additional 308 students (24%) sent text messages at least several times per week. Girls, children with no siblings, children who were members of a sport club, and children who played computer games daily were more likely to own and use mobile phones regularly. A higher number of socially disadvantaged children in a class predicted lower likelihood of regular mobile phone use among children. Our results suggest that mobile phone ownership and regular use is highly prevalent among school children in Hungary. Due to rapid changes in ownership patterns follow up surveys will be required to obtain information on temporal trends and changes in mobile phone ownership and pattern of use among school children.