Technology and gadgets no longer seems to be the exclusive domain of technocrats alone. Indian children have also climbed the technology ladder with one out of every 10 kids owning a mobile phone.

According to the survey conducted on new generations by Cartoon Network kid’s lifestyle research team, 84 per cent of homes have mobile phones, which puts India close to Japan at 93 per cent. In 2006, 59 per cent of the homes surveyed had mobile phones.

Duncan Morris, vice president of research and market development at Turner International that owns Cartoon Network among other ventures, said the survey was carried out across 14 cities across the country among children aged 7 to 14 years.

“The mobile revolution in the country is also evident from the fact that the children have an inclination towards using cellphones. To participate in television contests held periodically on Cartoon Network, 63 per cent of children prefer to send an SMS or make a phone call as compared to sending an email,” Morris said.

38 per cent of the homes have video games compared to 22 per cent in 2006. In terms of internet usage, 45 per cent of the kids use the internet to play online games, followed by 13 per cent who use it to listen to music.

“The survey shows interesting results in terms of choice for Indian children. When asked what they would do if they were given Rs 5,000, 17 per cent chose to buy a bicycle, 15 per cent chose mobile phones and 14 per cent wanted video game consoles,” Krishna Desai, associate director research at Turner International said.

In the media segment, television continues to be the dominant entertainer for children with 98 per cent watching it daily, followed by 25 per cent who read a newspaper on a daily basis.

“This is an interesting trend we noticed in India. This is more than twice the level seen in other countries. It seems that Indian kids are interested in the news,” Morris added.