Children who know how to use a mobile phone, as opposed to those who don’t, are more likely to move about their neighbourhood without adult supervision, research from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) suggests. The study, by ACER Research Fellow Ms Catherine Underwood, examined the extent to which knowing how to use a mobile phone is correlated with children’s physical activity and ability to move through their neighbourhood without adult supervision, also known as independent mobility. More than 800 Victorian primary school children aged between 8 and 12 years participated in the research, of which 84 per cent reported they know how to use a mobile phone. The study revealed that 70 per cent of children who know how to use a mobile phone reported that they are allowed to go outside and play with other children, compared to only 51 per cent of children who do not know how to use a mobile phone.