What girls really want is a cellphone

All the average schoolgirl wants this Christmas is a cellphone. Failing that, an iPod will complete her life. Cold hard cash will do very nicely for the boys, thank you very much.

Christmas gifts of the hi-tech, pricey persuasion featured strongly in the Christmas wish list of 33,000 students who took part in non-profit project CensusAtSchool.

The survey polled Year 5 to Year 10 students across the country and the children completed the survey online during class time.

The result is Jessica - a fictional composite of the students' most frequent responses. She's 13, lives in Auckland but despite that takes less than 10 minutes to get to school by car. Top of Jessica's Christmas wishlist is a better cellphone.

The survey finds a dramatic surge in cellphone use among young people.

Among 9-year-olds, the figure has doubled since the first survey in 2003. More than a fifth of the 2379 respondents aged 9 own one. Ownership rates among 9-year-olds two years ago was just 10 per cent.

Cellphone ownership rates increase further as the students mature. Among 10-year-olds, the figure is 29 per cent, while three-quarters of Jessica's peers tote mobiles, up nearly 50 per cent from 2003. Among 14-year-olds, the ownership rate is 84 per cent.

One in five cellphone owners spent more than $50 a month sending text messages. Almost half the children surveyed have their own TV, and just over a quarter own their own MP3 player.

The survey also discovered big changes in lunchtime activity levels as children advance through the school system. At Year 5, 80 per cent report their main activity as running and playing.

The figure drops steadily to a little over 20 per cent by high school. By Year 10, lunchtime mainly comprises either sitting or "standing around".

Hosted by Auckland University's statistics department in association with Statistics NZ and the Ministry of Education, the survey findings will be added to an international database.

THE WISH LIST

Girls

1. Cellphone
2. iPod
3. Money
4. Clothes
5. Dog
6. Car
7. Laptop
8. Horse
9. MP3 player
10. Book

Boys

1. Money
2. Cellphone
3. Motorbike
4. Car
5. PlayStation PSP
6. Computer
7. iPod
8. Bike
9. PlayStation 2
10. PS2 game