Numerous cell phone companies are now offering plans for children. Children can be allotted minutes to use at their parents' discretion. Presumably, said minutes will be given as rewards for doing chores and for good behavior. Still, I am alarmed.
How young is too young to have a cell phone? One of my cousins have her four-year-old a children's cell phone that came equipped with texting capabilities, and he ran up a texting bill. The kid can't even read! He just selects his mother's picture in the Contacts list and types in gibberish, then presses send. Why would you give such a small child a cell phone? He can't remember his phone number yet!
I don't think children should be given cell phones until junior high or middle school. They don't really need one until then. Before that, they should be using a pay phone at school (public schools have them still; it costs 50 cents now and it cost 10 cents ten years ago when I was in elementary school) to contact their parents. Some people argue that a child should always have a way to get in touch with their parents in case of an emergency. What kind of emergency are they going to face at school? If there is a fire or a bomb threat, parents will be notified by the administration. Primary school-aged children shouldn't be away from home or school without their parents or an adult anyway, so they don't need to call their parents.
The main problem I see with cell phone use that is introduced at an early age is that it teaches bad phone habits. If you buy one of those Dora phones for your 6-year-old daughter, you can choose when she can turn the phone on and off. But what happens when she is 16? She'll probably need a cell phone then, if she goes out with her friends and needs to call you to tell you where she is. But she might use that phone to text during class, possibly even to cheat on a test. People in my Honors-level high school classes who got cell phones before they were twelve text during class. Now, they are too old to earn minutes by doing chores or practicing the piano. If they had had to wait until they were a bit older to get a cell phone, they might appreciate it more and not abuse the privilege of being within reach of a phone at all times.
The main problem with having a phone too young is that children will regard the phone as a plaything. They might start using the house phone as a toy, making pretty noises with the various buttons. What if the bank calls and your 5-year-old answers and blabbers on for ten minutes in gibberish, thinking it's all a game? Important phone calls may be missed and your child will not be a responsible phone user for years to come.
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I agree with this on sooooo many levels. It applies to cell phones, laptops, and other technology. I know this is the technology age but when do we become to attached to technology that we no longer have relationships but cyber chats? Not only does one face the issue of over use and lack of gratitude, cell phones may cause brain damage from all the waves that are required to use them. The brain is really developing until around the age of 21. Why would you want to put your child in more danger just so they can text gibberish or you can get a cute picture of them talking to "Daddy"? It is NOT worth it!
Leah
I was given one on my thirteenth birthday. Since then, I've had three, and I'm getting my fourth this week. With the exception of my current phone, I had no choice in the matter. My parents gave me one and just expected me to know how to use it. My first two and next phone will be plans, but the one I have now is through Tracphone, and I buy minutes (which I actually prefer).
I like the Firefly, or whatever it's called. There's four buttons, each with a number programmed onto it. It seems more like a walkie-talkie than a real phone, and it also takes out unwanted calling. :) It's so cute, and if I wasn't 17 and would look like a total dweeb, I'd so get one.
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http://progressiveu.org/203912-yo-deseo-i-wish
(Latest blog. )
I didn't get my first cell-phone until this past Christmas, and I'm 17. I've already noticed a huge difference in how often I use it versus my friends who have had phones longer. I hardly turn mine on except to call my mom to pick me up from an after school activity, and my friends text each other in class.
But at the same time, age isn't the only factor in it. My mom got her first cell phone a year before I got mine, and she's getting just as bad as my classmates with it.
Yeah, if I have kids I'm not getting them a cellphone until a reasonable age like 16 or so, depending on the kinds of extra-curriculars that they have like sports, band, theater etc.
Also on a sidenote, my school took the pay phone away, but fortunately they have a phone in the office for "emergencies". Which is what cellphones should be used for, at least at earlier ages before the tangles of networking and social functions come about.
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Ever wonder what life would be like if we had no masters? No rulers, no presidents, no dictators, no senators; just us. Alone yet, together.
I got one for 8th grade graduation and I believe that was the perfect time. The only difference was that there was no such thing as texting yet (atleast on my phone) and my phone was in black and white. No color, no ringtones to download, nothing. All I could do was play snake (which is awesome) and call people. It was simple, and easy. Now though, people RELY on their phones. It is so sad. They have all their address and contact info, their daily planner, etc. People need to take a step back and think about what things used to be like. Most people don't even have land lines nowadays, scary thought.
I do think that in certain circumstances a phone should be given to a child earlier but not very often. My little sister's friend got a cell phone when she was around 12. However, she is in a very uncommon situation. Her parents work an hour from home and dont get home until late at night. She has to rely on people for rides all the time and her parents needed to be able to get a hold of her no matter where she was so they could check up on her. I think that is reasonable.
Leah
I didn't get a cell phone until I entered High School. I haven't found it to be a distraction yet I observe countless others hiding their phones behind purses and binders. I suppose it's more important to find out what feeble excuse of a meal is being served for lunch or who is buying the next keg of beer for a party than to pay attention to a measly fourty-five minute lesson in class. Perhaps if they don't know what's for lunch they'll simply starve. Waves of confused, hunger panged students will circulate the cafeteria in search of low comestibles until it is time to leave for class. I find this to be quite an amusing scenerio of results from students ceasing to text message in class.
If a student can't wait to use their mobile communication device until they leave the building at the end of the day, why put them in the same rooms as teachers who, for the most part, have devoted their working lives to passing on knowledge? Their words just fall on the metaphorical deaf ears of those who do not wish to learn.
Wow, look at all these privileged people!
I didn't get my first cell phone until I was able to get on a plan on my own and pay for it on my own.
I've had a total of three phones, all of which I bought myself (except for the last one, which was technically paid for by my boyfriend, but I bought him the exact same one for the exact same price at the same time he bought mine...) and I've always flipped the bill.
You want my honest opinion? Kids shouldn't have cell phones unless they're paying for it themselves. If they mow the lawn every week and do the dishes after dinner every night, maybe the deserve a minor plan with a teensie bit of minutes on it (one that makes it impossible for them to go OVER minutes)... but otherwise, there's no reason for a phone. I didn't have one until three quarters of the way through my sixteenth year, and I did fine. My parents were always able to get a hold of me if they needed to and if there was an emergency I knew how to contact the appropriate people.
I was told I'm gonna be a hard-ass on my kids, and I guess I will. They won't get anything they don't deserve.
(Even Princess shoes, which my kids will never have. Ha.)
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You are the Voice of the Childwen of the Revowution! [Toulouse, Moulin Rouge]
Well, you don't know what everybody might have done to pay/get cell phones. I didn't pay directly, but I did chores so that they would pay for it. So instead of my parents giving me money for chores, they just paid the bill. See how it can go different ways?
And I believe that once you are 16 and driving, you really need a cell phone. If you're car breaks down and you're alone, you won't want to be asking strangers to use their phone, or have to walk some distance to use a land line.
They are different views/scenarios to this situation which I think we should all be open to...
definitely need cells phones, I agree. What if you break down, like you said. I just don't think 7-year-olds need toy phones to play with. And sorry for the double reply; slow browser.
~Violinstef
I've been in too many situations where I was alone, scared shitless and completely vulnerable because I didn't have a phone.
“I hope the departure is joyful and I hope never to return.” - Frida Kahlo
...ThesisAntithesisSynthesisThesis...
If you're sixteen and driving, you should have a job (or do some work for your parents) anyway to have the privilege to drive, the ability to pay for gas, and the ownership of a car. That's all I'm saying.
Doing chores for your parents can be considered "payment" of a cell phone. I said that in my original comment.
I agree, cell phones can be incredibly helpful, even life-saving. But honestly, if worse comes to worse and the kids don't "deserve" a phone, they can have one of those embarrassing one-number-plus-911 phones in case of an emergency.
Look at that, a solution.
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You are the Voice of the Childwen of the Revowution! [Toulouse, Moulin Rouge]
I had my first cell phone, a pay as you go phone, my sophomore year in college. I didn't get a phone with a plan until the end of my junior year.
I'm ok with kids under 16 having the phones with 4 buttons on them that you can program like 5 numbers into. Not only are pay phones more expensive than they used to be, they are increasingly difficult to find. Sometimes, the only phones available at schools are in the office, which is usually inside a building that is sometimes no longer accessible by the time sports and band programs, etc. are over with and done. But I agree that anything more than that... kids don't need a full out plan complete with texting and a music player.
And I agree with BurningExample. You should, at the very least, have to do work around the house regularly to have a phone plan, and only if you're 16 or over. You should have to prove somehow that you're responsible enough to own a plan. Either do chores or pay for it yourself.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
I also have had to pay for my cell phone bill along with my car insurance. I think that 16 yr olds do need cell phones. we are no longer in the days were you can walk to the nearest house and be safe accepting an invitation to enter and use the telephone. Everything is always in moderation but somethings have become necessities. Leah