The mobile telecommunications industry in Australia has introduced a series of measures to assist parents to monitor and supervise the use of mobile phones by their children, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association has told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Sydney Morning Herald is running an article on mobile phone addiction following overseas reports of two Spanish children, aged 12 and 13, who were reportedly admitted to a mental health clinic by their parents because they could not undertake normal activities without their mobile phones.

AMTA Chief Executive Officer, Chris Althaus, was asked if there was such a thing as mobile phone addiction.

“That is an area the industry would leave to medically qualified practitioners to determine. We don’t claim to be health experts; we rely on those who are,” he said.

“However, our industry is very interested in issues related to misuse of mobile phones and takes steps to assist consumers enjoy the benefits of mobile phones in a safe, responsible and affordable manner.”

Mr Althaus said the industry took all claims of misuse of mobiles seriously. “We believe the positive aspects of mobile phone use outweigh the negative, however we are committed to providing practical advice to help prevent misuse. Our industry takes steps to minimize the risks associated with the misuse of mobile telecommunications technology.”

He said the key to tackling such issues as “addiction” was not to blame the technology, but concentrate on human behaviour.

Mr Althaus said it was important to put the issue of misuse or addiction into perspective with the vast majority of people using mobile phones responsibly.

Recent studies/ surveys in Australia showed moderate patterns of use and expenditure:

• On average, people make 3.5 voice calls a day and send nine text messages, spending a total of an hour a day using their mobiles, according to a study undertaken by the Queensland University of Technology.
  
• The median cost of using a mobile phone was in the range of $20-30 per month, although the modal cost (ie the amount spent by the highest proportion of people) was $10-20. People aged 25-29 years are the highest spending mobile users with 38.6% spending $50 or more a month. These figures were part of AMTA’s collaboration with Australia’s leading social researchers to study the impact of the mobile on work/life balance.

Mr Althaus said: “The industry is concerned with any misuse of mobiles, although we believe the number of people affected is relatively small, we have responded with a range of bill management tools, such as on-line bill checking and spend alerts, to assist people to control their spending.

Some of the initiatives include:

Pre-paid mobiles

Capped plan deals

Online bill checking

Spending alerts

Limits on customers’ monthly billed amounts

Consumer tips to help people manage their mobile phone spending

The mobile telecommunications industry and mobile content providers are members of a scheme that has introduced a range of safeguards to protect children, gives consumers clear cost information on premium mobile services and a clear “stop” command to unsubscribe.

Mr Althaus said parents played a key role in surpervising and monitoring their children’s use of mobile phones.

They should be aware of their children’s mobile phone use and monitor their activities. They should have a clear mobile phone policy/agreement in the home and use the tools made available by the mobile phone industry to assist parents to supervise and monitor their children’s useage of mobiles.