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The average mobile-phone bill paid by South Korean teenagers were 24 percent higher than their monthly allowances and similar to bills paid by adults, a survey showed.

According to the survey of 780 middle and high school students in Seoul and its neighboring areas, conducted by the Seoul YMCA Citizen’s Mediation Center from July 1 to 20, teen mobile-phone bills stood at 38,414 won (US$42) a month, on average, compared to an average monthly allowance of 31,035 won.

In addition, mobile-phone bills paid by teenagers almost matched the 38,226 won (excluding subscription fees) average monthly bills paid by ordinary mobile phone users in 2006.

The survey also found that teenagers send 92 mobile-phone text messages a day, or some 2,760 messages a month. At present, many mobile phone operators offer text-message services to teenagers for free. However, when the teenager becomes an adult and is eligible to pay for text messages, the teenager will have to pay 82,800 won per month for the use of text-message services. Given the cost of charges for basic services and voice calls, if the teenager were to keep his or her habit of mobile-phone use, the teenager would pay more than 100,000 won upon becoming an adult.

Kim Hee-gyeong, an official at Seoul YMCA’s Citizen’s Mediation Center, said, “At home, parents need to teach their children to pay mobile-phone bills with their own pocket money. The society needs to launch a campaign, such as ‘School without mobile phones’ or ‘No mobile phone day,’ to prevent students from using mobile phones at a cost exceeding their pocket money.”

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