Children are getting their first smartphones at an incredibly young age

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Children are getting their first smartphones, on average, at just over 10 years of age in the U.S., according to a new study from Influence Central.

This young age not only demonstrates just how much mobile technology permeates our lives, but it affects the way American children access the Internet and interact with social media. According ot the study, approximately 65% of children access the Internet via a laptop or mobile device, up from 42% in 2012.

Furthermore, car rides have become a popular location for tablet use, as 55% of kids prefer tablets in a car, up from 26% in 2012. Meanwhile, 45% prefer using smartphones, up from 39% in 2012.

Amazingly, more than one-third of children have a social media account before they reach 12 years old, and 11% have one before age 10.

The study revealed how early in life children become acquainted with mobile devices and how these devices are often their first experience with the Internet. And children are using their mobile devices for numerous purposes, including games and productivity apps, according to Influence Central CEO Stacy DeBroff.

Therefore, brands must figure out ways to leverage this young market to develop loyal customers from their first experience with smartphones, especially because these children are coming of age in an era in which smartphones have always been a central part of their lives. It stands to reason, then, that they will have little to no patience for businesses that either do not focus on mobile or provide a poor mobile experience.

This young market could also be the solution to slowing global smartphone market over the next few years. Despite a record-setting holiday quarter, 2015 was likely the last year of double-digit growth for smartphone shipments.

Mature markets were at the heart of this year's deceleration. Adoption has reached new highs in key markets in the United States, Europe, and China. The pool of first-time buyers in these countries is shrinking rapidly, and sales are now primarily coming from phone upgrades.

Meanwhile, emerging markets will continue to see robust shipment growth. India and Indonesia, in particular, will help fuel a large share of the shipments growth within the global smartphone market over the next few years.

Will McKitterick, senior research analyst at BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on smartphones by country that forecasts the market through 2021 to reflect slower, stabilizing growth in the long term.

BI Intelligence

Here are some key points from the report:

The global smartphone market is still growing at a steady pace due to more widespread adoption in emerging markets. We estimate the global market will hit about 2.1 billion units shipped in 2021.

Shipments growth over the past few years has been driven by the falling price of smartphones, which has made handsets more accessible in emerging markets. The average selling price of a smartphone in India nearly halved between 2010 and 2015.

With relatively low smartphone penetration, we forecast Indian smartphone shipments to grow rapidly over the next five years. Nevertheless, India has a long way to go before it surpasses China as the world's leading market for smart handsets. India is estimated to account for roughly 10% of the global smartphone market in 2016, considerably less than China's 30% share.

The global platform wars are over, even as smartphone adoption continues to rise across various markets worldwide. Android and iOS are estimated to account for 97.3% of global platform market share in 2015, compared to 96.3% last year.

Apple closed the year with another strong quarter on the back of its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus launches. Still, the vendor saw a slight decline in YoY growth of its share of the market in the face of stiff competition from Samsung and Chinese vendors such as Huawei.

In full, the report:

Forecasts global smartphone shipments through 2021.

Explores why India is the next high-growth smartphone market.

Breaks down the global smartphone platform wars.

Discusses smartphone vendor performance market share.

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Source: Children are getting their first smartphones at an incredibly young age