I was recently joking with a co-worker that at the rate things are going, babies will soon be born texting on little BlackBerrys while listening to music on Apple iPod Nanos.
Apparently, I wasn’t that far off.
Ars Technica reports a recent study by a market-research firm has concluded that the average age that a child first uses consumer electronic devices has dropped from 8 years old (in 2005) to approximately 6.5.
The NPD Group says that young children are becoming extremely adept at using digital media players, portable video games, digital cameras and more.
One reason for the toddler tech-savvy: Many of today’s new parents grew up on video games and earlier mobile devices (portable CD players, Walkmans, cell phones) and are comfortable letting their children do the same.
Other kids find such devices are recognized as status symbols among their peers, so they are quick to ask mommy and daddy for one.
I currently don’t have any kids, only a dog, so I’m cool. I can’t imagine my dog wanting to use my cell phone or laptop, however, she is pretty smart. Hmm…
