Girls want mobiles sooner than boys

Here's one of those "obvious when you think about it" pieces of research. Teenage girls want mobiles earlier than teenage boys, according to a survey in the USA by MultiMedia Intelligence. Although there's little difference in mobile phone ownership at the age of 13, there's a large gap between the genders by 17. In 2007, 91% of 17-year-old American girls had mobiles but only 78% of 17-year-old boys had them. Generally, mobile ownership by teenage girls increases with age, while usage by boys jumps at ages 13 and 16. [Press release]