Roy Morgan Research figures point to widespread mobile phone ownership among Australian teenagers, with the Apple iPhone the most popular handset.The Roy Morgan figures show that just over one million Australian teenagers aged 14-17 (91 per cent) have a mobile phone, with 58 per cent owning an iPhone, compared with 41 per cent of all Australian mobile owners.
Samsung is the second most popular brand for teenagers with 22 per cent ownership, compared with 31 per cent overall.
Nearly all 14-17 year-old mobile owners have a smartphone (94 per cent), with 75 per cent already on to their second or subsequent handset.
Among mobile-owning teenagers, 78 per cent say someone else pays for all or most of their usage charges, while 62 per cent got their current handset brand new, with 65 per cent using prepaid and 35 per cent postpaid, which Roy Morgan notes is “almost the exact reverse of the ratio in the general population”.
Telstra is the provider of choice for 37 per cent of teenage mobile owners (compared with 44 per cent of all Australian mobile owners 14+), with 21 per cent with Optus and 16 per cent Vodafone (each very close to the national norm).
Roy Morgan notes that Telstra’s decreased market share is going to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). Of 26 per cent of teenage mobile owners with an MVNO, 7 per cent are with Virgin Mobile, 5 per cent with Amaysim, and around 2.5 per cent with each of TPG, ALDImobile and Boost Mobile.
Roy Morgan found that the average 14-17 year-old spends around $10 less per month on mobile usage than adult mobile owners, largely driven by a higher take-up of prepaid plans with discount MVNO providers, with teenagers who have to pay for usage themselves spending almost $5 less a month on average.
Australian Mobile Phone Owners aged 14-17
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| Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, July 2015 – June 2016, sample n = 512 Australian Mobile Owners aged 14-17 |
“Teens aged 14-17 are around twice as likely as other mobile owners to use the device for playing music, videos and games,” Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine commented. “Eighty two per cent of teens have done one or more of these activities on their mobile in the last four weeks – almost as many as made an actual phone call with it.
“Almost half of teens say they can’t live without a mobile phone. They’re also much more likely than other mobile owners to say they’re happy to receive relevant ads on the phone (especially if it could reduce the phone bill).
“And, a warning for the parents who are paying for their teenagers’ usage: 30 per cent of teens say they often go over the data limit.”
