Eighty per cent of girls and 70 per cent of boys between the ages of 12 and 14 own a mobile phone. Getting a handset is now a rite of passage. But with health scares and concerns over cost, Jamie Smyth asks if they are such a good idea

More than 200,000 mobile phones were sold in the run-up to Christmas this year, pushing mobile-phone penetration in the State well above 70 per cent. In addition, retailers are reporting strong demand for mobile accessories in the New Year sales and operators are talking about a surge in messaging and data services.

There seems no end to the mobile revolution and, despite denials from most mobile firms, it is teenagers and schoolchildren who are driving the industry forward and boosting corporate profits.

Eight out of 10 girls between the ages of 12 and 14 currently own a mobile handset and 70 per cent of boys of the same age own mobiles, according to a recent survey by research group Amarach Consulting. Meanwhile, parents' representatives and retailers report a growing trend among children under 12 years of age owning mobiles.

Clementine, an 11-year-old on a shopping trip with her mother on Grafton Street, Dublin, was one of the lucky ones this Christmas. She received her first mobile phone, a pre-paid Nokia 3210, as a present and is ecstatic.

"It's excellent. I'm using it to call my friends and send about 10 texts a day," she says. "I'm paying for it out of my own pocket money of €6.35."

Like many parents of "mobile-toting" kids, Clementine's mother, does not have a mobile of her own. "They are too expensive," she says. "I'd use a public phone if I needed to and anyway my friends don't own mobiles either."

But despite her own reticence to buy a mobile, she believes there are benefits in getting her child a mobile. "It's a rite of passage for kids now. She has to learn about money and responsibility," she says.

For most teenagers, though, mobile phones are a must-have fashion accessory which can boost or undermine the "street cred" of an individual depending on its make and model.

"The Nokia pre-paid is the phone that all the kids are interested in," says Ben Moore, sales account manager for mobile phone accessory firm, Happytalk Limited. "These handsets are easy to use and can send text messages easily."

It's not just the type of handset which is crucial for young users, mobile accessories are now just as important. Clip-on covers in a selection of bright colours and designs are available from most shops and a selection of other gadgets are enticing kids to part with their Christmas or birthday money.

"It costs €25 a pop for a clip-on cover and some kids have two," says Moore. "Girls between the age of 13 and 16 are our biggest market - for boys its between the age of 16 and 20."

The teenager's love affair with the mobile phone is eating into other more traditional youth pastimes. A British Medical Council report published last year found that teenagers were spending less money on cigarettes because they had become hooked on their mobiles and didn't have enough money to smoke.

Most young people own pre-paid mobiles, which enable users to better gauge the amount they spend on calls and text-messaging. But calls are more expensive on these phones when compared to contract ones and the amount that teenagers are spending is frightening.

"I spend about £50 or £60 per month on my mobile bill and most of this would be on text messaging," says Ruth, a 17-year-old student, carrying a Nokia with a colourful Winnie the Pooh cover.

"I have a part-time job to pay for it and most of my friends do too... In our class we did a survey which found 25 out of 30 students had a mobile phone."

Mobile phones are also changing the way teenagers communicate and relate to one another.

"If you don't have a mobile, you don't have a love life," says Laura, a 16-year-old pupil at Loreto Convent, Bray, Co Wicklow. "Text messages are a way of getting to know people. Boys are often too shy to come up and talk to you at first and will often send text messages now."

A new type of text language has been invented by teenagers to enable speedy messaging between friends. It is made up of a range of abbreviations and symbols unintelligible to most adults which includes messages such as "XMeQK" - this translates as "kiss me quick".

Picture messaging is also growing in popularity and most teenagers download ringtones from internet sites to make their mobiles more individualised.

Mobile firms acknowledge that younger subscribers are driving the use of mobile data services, but all networks remain coy about the amount of cash they make from younger users. No Irish network provides accurate figures on the percentage of users who are under 18 and all say they do not direct their marketing campaigns at teenagers.

The reality though is very different. Glossy adverts featuring boy band Westlife and special offers promising free or cheap text messages for pre-paid users specifically target teen users. Although firms are moving to increase the value they can get from their contract customers they are loathe to alienate the "text generation".

Mobile firms are also anxious not to draw attention to younger customers because of a growing sense of unease among some parents' groups and schools.

Concerns over the potential health risks to children from radiation emitted by mobile handsets and base stations have dogged the industry. Mobile firms all claim their phones are safe and there is no conclusive scientific research on the topic.

New legislation expected here shortly should ensure that mobile firms will need to apply for licences to erect base stations. This may be used as a method of removing mobile masts from areas near near schools or hospitals. Further scientific research is currently being undertaken in Britain and may provide more conclusive evidence on potential effects.

"We certainly don't approve of them being used in schools as they can definitely be disruptive to education," says Marie Danaswamy, president of the National Parents Council (Post-Primary).

"There have also been appalling cases of bullying conducted through text messages. We've had situations here where a student has taken an overdose as a result of this, and in the UK there have even been suicides."

A recent epidemic of mobile-phone muggings is also causing concern among parents and lawmakers. One of the main reasons that parents buy their children mobiles is to increase their security and enable them to be contacted at all times, but a British report highlighted last week that children are increasingly being targeted by criminals for expensive mobile-phone handsets which are worth more than €100. In one case highlighted in the British media, a 19-year-old woman was shot dead by thieves who stole her handset.

Figures released by Eircell Vodafone show 2,000 mobile phone handsets are stolen or lost every week in the State. Although the Garda does not keep any statistics on the matter, anecdotal evidence suggests that mobile crime is rising here.

Schools and parents in Britain are now being advised to tell children to keep their mobiles out of sight. And this message is being echoed here, according to Danaswamy.

"There is a danger of a child being mugged for their phone and parents need to advise them to be more discrete," she says.

But attempts by parents or schools to make teenagers keep their latest fashion accessory out of sight and out of mind are unlikely to work.

The introduction of next- generation mobile handsets this year, which look more like communicators from a Star Trek film than traditional phones, will probably fuel the mobile revolution further.