After one of the most comprehensive studies of the effect on children of the explosion in media choices of the past 15 years, the regulator Ofcom said girls aged 12 to 15 are more likely than boys to have a mobile phone, use the internet, listen to the radio and read newspapers or magazines. Only when it comes to playing computer and console games do boys overtake girls.

Given the historic domination of the home telephone by teenage girls, perhaps it is not surprising they are using the internet to communicate with friends for hours on end. Almost all children between 12 and 15 with the internet at home said they were “confident” surfing the web and did so on average for eight hours a week. But girls are more likely than boys to use the web as a communication tool. —Owen Gibson —More likely to have a mobile, use the net, listen to radio and read papers: it’s the girl  (Guardian)