US households with children between the ages of four and 14 have an average of 11 electronic gizmos, according to a Kids & Consumer Electronics report from industry tracker NPD Group.<\/p>\n
One third of parents surveyed for the study said they plan to buy their child a consumer electronics device in the coming year.<\/p>\n
Younger children are in line for electronic learning toys while older offspring can expect mobile telephones or digital cameras, NPD found.<\/p>\n
In a shift from earlier NPD studies, girls are apparently more likely than boys to use mobile telephones or laptop computers.<\/p>\n
Children using mobile telephones prefer text messaging and sending pictures to talking on the devices, NPD found. Text messaging by children has “skyrocketed,” according to the report.<\/p>\n
Televisions and computers remain the top two devices used by children, but the study shows a shift to high-definition sets and laptop computers.<\/p>\n
Survey results indicate 37 percent of US children use personal digital music players, such as seemingly ubiquitous Apple iPod devices, as compared with six percent in 2005.<\/p>\n
“The increase in usage of portable devices opens up more opportunity to distribute digital content,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.<\/p>\n
“Kids’ acquisition of digital content has increased across the board in the past year, particularly for digital music, TV shows, music videos and online video clips.”<\/p>\n
One in four kids has their own videogame console, according to the report.<\/p>\n
“The activity which drives two of the three most-used consumer electronics devices, computers and video game console systems, is gaming,” Frazier said.<\/p>\n