Online marketing specialists may have a tough road to travel when reaching out to kids with mobile phones. But the trends are certainly encouraging.

With fresh insights and information from other studies, eMarketer is tracking the mobile use among youth.

Learn more here.

Basically, privacy laws and mobile user preferences will limit how effectively marketers can appeal to kids. But the numbers are still captivating. The whopper is that 66% of children ages 8 to 18 have mobile phones, according to a 2009 Kaiser Family Foundation study.

So the conditioning is underway.

The next step is to ensure that they get hold of smartphones, especially as youth influence or eventually make buying decisions. eMarketer cites a 2010 Q Interactive survey of moms who indicated that just 14% of their children have smartphones.

Check out additional eMarketing articles online marketing specialists should be aware of.