Apps for and used by children have been in the news recently. In
the UK a five year old managed to run up a bill of £1,710.43 in
paid for add-ons for a game which he had downloaded free from
Apple’s app store. He was using his parent’s iPad (with
permission) to download and play Zombie v Ninja. The UK’s Office
of Fair Trading (OFT) is to investigate the ‘free app/paid for
features’ marketplace. More than two thirds of children and
teenagers in the UK own a smart device. According to a survey
conducted in the UK by OnePoll, 36% of children aged 11-16
download mobile apps without their parents’ permission. 40% of
boys admitted to having done this, compared with 31% of girls.
The survey also found that youngsters can increase their
families’ monthly charge by an average of £34. The highest bills
were generated by eight-year olds! The researchers estimate that
parents are incurring approximately £30 million in
‘unauthorised’ purchases. In Australia the Cartoon Network
researched the media habits of 1800 children