Internet is also a children’s game. Ernesto Piedras, CEO of CIU, showed some data about how kids use the Internet for Forbes Mexico, which evidences a high level of socialization of new technologies.
Out of 121.8 million telecommunications lines that exist in Mexico, 5.5% is used by children between 6 and 11 years old, a segment that grows annually by 4.4%. This age segment prefers smartphones. 99% of children with cell phones have one. The cost for the purchase of a cell phone is only slightly lower: $ 3286 versus $ 3544 for the average user.
56% of children have access to the Internet, which represents 7.5 million users.
Of the 7.5 million Internet users between 6 to 11 years, 91% use instant messaging services, 84% use social networks, and 48% seek information.
Regarding videogames, they show a penetration level of 90% in the segment from 6 to 11 years. Although historically children have had a high level of adoption in video games, this sector has expanded to all ages and is now present in 63% of the population.
Ernesto Piedras asserts that “the telecommunications market has transformed habits, preferences, uses and attitudes” so that it is no longer toys, but technological products that parents are concerned about acquiring for festivities.
The data indicate a need for specialized content for children, as well as parental control tools. Also, Piedras says that the data will predict the consumption habits of children in the future.
The general director of CIU concludes “when we see children in this world of connectivity, we already glimpsed in advance the demand for these digital citizens of the future, already active from the present. With them, the future is taking place today. “