( CNN ) -- Young people around the world love their cell phones -- and a new Nielsen report sheds light on which phones they 're using , how they choose their phones , and how they use them . The report focused on youth ages 15-24 from Brazil , Russia , India , China , Vietnam , Germany , Spain , Italy , the UK and the U.S . Some highlights : . In all countries studied , the majority of young mobile users own feature phones ( basic phones that do n't run apps ) -- which is n't surprising , since they indicated that price is the main driver in their purchase decision ( except for Russia , where design was ranked as slightly more important ) . In the U.S. , only 33 % of young mobile users have smartphones . Italy had the highest smartphone penetration among youth ( 47 % ) , and India had the lowest ( 10 % ) . One surprise : Most young U.S. smartphone users ( 55 % ) are female . In every other country studied , most young smartphone users are male . Across all types of phones , China and the U.S. have the most young users who use advanced mobile data services . `` 84 % percent of Chinese youth use their phones beyond voice and text , compared to 47 percent of Chinese adults . '' said the report . Meanwhile : `` 83 % of U.S. youth use advanced data -- 32 % higher than U.S . adults . '' But in terms of mobile Web usage , Chinese youth are leading the way : 73 % of young Chinese mobile users access the Web from their phone . Young American mobile users , while in second place , are far behind -- only 48 % report using the mobile Web . The report took a special look at U.S. teen texting . `` If it seems like American teens [ ages 13-17 ] are texting all the time , it 's probably because on average they 're sending or receiving 3,339 texts a month . That 's more than six per hour they 're awake -- an 8 % jump from last year , '' said the report . Teen girls are doing most of that texting , the report said -- they send and receive an average of 4,050 texts per month . Who pays for young people 's cell phones ? This varies by age . In the U.S. , only 27 % of mobile users aged 15-19 pay for their own service ; in Germany and Brazil , that figure is 56 % . But once German and Brazilian mobile users reach the 20-24 age group , those numbers jump to 84 % and 82 % , respectively . For U.S. mobile users aged 20-24 , 45 % are paying their own mobile phone bills . Which is a bit surprising : Are most U.S. families really willing to foot the mobile bill for a 24-year-old ? How do young people pay for their phones ? In Russia , a whopping 98 % of young mobile users have prepaid phone plans ; in the U.S. , only 19 % do . However , prepaid plans are more common and diverse in most countries outside the U.S. ; so this might not be solely an age-related issue .
A new Nielsen report focuses on cell phone use by youth ages 15-24 from all over the world . In all countries studied , the majority of young mobile users own feature phones . More young Chinese mobile users access the web from their phone than young Americans .