45% of British internet users sometimes connect through mobile

"Almost half of UK internet users are going online via mobile phone data connections, according to the Office for National Statistics.
45% of people surveyed said they made use of the net while out and about, compared with 31% in 2010.
The most rapid growth was among younger people, where 71% of internet-connected 16 to 24-year-olds used mobiles.
Domestic internet use also rose. According to the ONS, 77% of households now have access to a net connection.
That figure was up 4% from the previous year, representing the slowest rate of growth since the ONS survey began in 2006.
Among the 23% of the population who remain offline, half said they "didn't need the internet.""
Source:  Data from the Office of National Statistics, reported by BBC News, 31st August 2011

High frequency hearing loss among American teenagers doubled between 1985 and 2008

"The always-on, always-cranked lifestyle has obvious consequences, but is it really this bad? According to recent research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, hearing loss has essentially doubled since 1985. The results, officially released a few months ago, unsurprisingly peg MP3 players and smartphones as a major culprit.    
And the numbers are hard to look at. "High frequency hearing loss (HFHL) doubled over the 24-year period from 10.1 percent in 1985 to 19.2 percent in 2008," researching PhDs Abbey L. Berg and Yula C. Serpanos relayed after combing through decades of data.  But once data is analyzed through 2011, noticeable hearing loss among teenagers may have pushed past the 20-mark."

Source:  Data from the Journal of Adolescent Health, reported by DigitalMusicNews, 5th July 2011

80% of British students own a laptop; 40% spend 3-4 hours a day online

"The study (of over 1,000 students) indicates that despite difficult financial times students are willing to embrace paid for content with over a third having paid for some form of online content, such as apps and online gaming credits. The research shows that students are fully equipped with the latest technology with significantly more saying they own laptops (80%) than TVs (57%), 50% are spending a proportion of their time accessing the internet via their smartphones. When asked this rose to three quarters who claimed that they will be accessing the internet via a smartphone handset in the next 2 years.
The study highlights that nearly 40% of students questioned are spending between 3-4 hours per day online; the majority being on social network sites. The research showed that almost a third are following brands on social sites with the likes of River Island, New look and Adidas being in the top ten mentioned - in some cases specifically for discounts (35.2%) and exclusive content (29.5%) with over two thirds contributing to existing content on friends’ walls, pages and statuses."

Source:  Research conducted by the IAB (UK) and Student Room, reported on the IAB website, 13th April 2011

2/3 of Spotify's free users are under 29

"Is Spotify’s free service drawing people away from piracy? Will Page from PRS for Music outlined a stat that starts to answer that question, during a speech to the IPsoc law society late last week. “Two thirds of Spotify Free users are under the age of 29,” he says. “Strong evidence that a significant part of ‘Generation Napster’ now prefer legal free.” Spotify has confirmed the figure with Music Ally."
Source:  MusicAlly, 5th April 2011

The online & offline habits of teen and tween girls

"Media Habits & Relationships
'Being with friends' (in the real world) is what girls across all age groups (66%) enjoy doing, followed by 'shopping' and 'listening to music'. And when it comes to shortened attention spans, the research shows that a third (30%) of Gen Z girls regularly watch TV shows online for longer than 10 minutes.
Play & Games
Gaming has become a commonplace activity among a relatively new 'casual gamers' user group, but has the market now reached saturation? Not where girls are concerned. Half (49%) of older teens say they never spend time with portable gaming devices or console games. Gaming is more entrenched in younger girls lives, with 35% of 12 and under personally owning a portable gaming device. Social gaming habits, such as playing Farmville, CItyVille, Cafe World and Sims regularly, are prevalent, although vary depending on country: Brazil and Poland top the list (41% and 40%) for girls playing MMOGs (massive multiplayer online games) with Germany and France the lowest (21% and 22%). In the UK, 34% of girls play regularly and in the US the figure is 29%.
Spending Power
Girls like to shop - scoring it as their second favorite activity - but does their lack of plastic hamper their spending money online? It appears not. One in five girls aged 12 and under regularly visit online shopping sites, rising to one in four once they become teenagers. The majority of teenage girls are still buying products on the high street or at a shopping center rather than online, but this shopping medium is far from off limits - 13% of Generation Z girls regularly purchase products online regardless of age.
    Highlights:

    Under 12s
        - 64% use a gaming console
        - Only 35% put listening to music in their top 5 activities
        - More than 60% own a mobile phone
        - More than 60% never read a newspaper
        - Prefer instant messenger to social networks

    13-15 year olds
        - More than 45% say listening to music is one of their favorite
          activities
        - Almost 80% own a mobile
        - YouTube, followed by Facebook, are their favorite social networks
        - 25% regularly visit online shopping sites although only 13%
          Purchase products
        - Begin using mobile web and mobile social networks

    16-18 year olds
        - Most interested in music - nearly 50% list it in their top 5
          activities
        - Nearly 80% own a mobile
        - Are most likely to read newspapers
        - Are least likely to use a gaming console
        - The heaviest media users
        - More likely to use social networks rather than instant messages"
Source:  Press release from Stardoll and Carat, 27th January 2011
About the research
The research was conducted within the virtual world of Stardoll (http://www.stardoll.com), and the total number of respondents was 11,000. The study was conducted in August 2010 using Questback's advance survey tool EasyResearch. Respondents were recruited randomly on Stardoll.com by sending the survey to Stardoll members within the 11 markets (Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, UK and US).