March 8th, 2010 | 
Author:
Take a random tween, age 8-12, place them in front of a rotary
phone and observe at the blank stare of bewilderment. Yes, gone
are the days of the landline, pushed aside by the next wave of
technological advancement. Mobile phones are fast displacing
landlines in many homes; accompanying this movement is the fact
kids regularly use and know how to use these Cell Phones. The
mobility of cell phones means you can be anywhere and have the
necessity, or should I say the convenience, of a phone.
Cellular service providers and manufacturers would enjoy nothing
more than exploiting the vastly untapped tween market. However,
is it necessary to provide cell phones to kids age 8-12? What
makes it necessary today? Is the simple the notion of having the
technology enough reason to equip younger and younger customers
with phones? Where do we draw the line when it comes to tweens
owning cell phones, and when should we be restricting
use? The remainder of this article will discuss the pros and
cons of purchasing cell phones for kids. It will discuss the
social aspects, health concerns, and cost issues.
Social and Cost Issues:
Weighing in at a paltry 56 grams, designed with a smaller frame
to accommodate smaller hands, measuring 88 x 44 x 20 mm, one of
the leading cell phones targeted exclusively towards the 8-12
market, the Firefly. It offers up to 2.5 hours of talk time, and
up to 100 hours of standby, basically it’s your bare bones cell
phone that permits parent’s to limit outgoing calls to certain
numbers and also sports ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ buttons for quick
dialling. The Firefly is marketed with such catch phrases as
“Parents of pre-teens understand that it’s time to start
loosening the reins and letting their kids travel unsupervised
to school, the library, or friends’ houses.”
Pro: Yes kids need a safety mechanism and having a cell phone
handy does provide added protection in the form of determining
whereabouts and phoning for help.
Con: Big safe mechanism, however, if any parent purchases a cell
phone for their kid using the catchy marketing ploy directed to
parents, ‘…start loosening the reins and let their kids travel
unsupervised,’ they have the wrong perception regarding the
purpose of a phone. Anybody who believes that providing a cell
phone to a child automatically provides them with responsibility
and ability to take care of themselves, when they were unable to
do so before a cell phone, are relying too heavily on
‘parenting by technology’. Be mindful of such reasoning when
thinking about buying a cell phone.
Con: Another item to consider, are we turning our kids into
internet and mobile phone junkies? One should question whether
connecting kids 24/7 to their friends via cell phone will
influence their social habits. Also, cell phones are quickly
becoming the norm and the fashion. Kids will demand to be hip
like their buddies from school who sport the latest cell phone,
or any cell phone for that matter. Parents will be pressed to
give in to ignescent demands of ‘everyone else has one’, or ‘I
want to be cool like the other kids’. Sure it may be good to
have your kid fit in, but since when is school primarily a
popularity contest? Furthermore, when does fitting in cost so
much?! The thing with cell phones is there are monthly costs
attached — not a one time sunk cost. Chances are you will pay
the monthly fees. Some options are available to have
‘pay-as-you-go’ options, you pay for whatever minutes you
purchase, however, either or, the more your kid talks on the
phone, the more you pay. Don’t forget too that cell phones are
more than phones. Almost all (the Firefly does not) have text
messaging and more complicated communication tools included that
have an attached cost as well. Boy, this is starting to get
expensive!
Health Issues:
The Firefly Cell Phone is designed to give the bare phone
essentials. However, this phone is a candybar style, which means
the antenna is located within the phone unit and does not
protrude out. This means cellular frequencies are closer to the
brain. The question now revolves around how early is too early
for exposing kids to cellular frequencies on a regular basis? On
one hand you don’t want to risk your child’s Health, on the
other hand scientific research is still inconclusive when it
comes to cell phone ‘radiation’. The juror is still out on this
one, be your own judge regarding the health impacts.
There you have it, some helpful reminders to consider before
going out and dropping a couple hundred dollars and an
additional twenty per month, minimum, on a cell phone for
junior. One certainly cannot downplay the safety benefits, you
never know when it could save a life, however, at the same time,
there are many con items to consider before sending buying a a
cell phone for junior. One thing is for sure, the little handset
device will never replace supervision from an adult when
supervision is due.
Barry Nagassar
http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/cell-phones-for-kids-how-young-is-too-young-725.html
Posted in Cell Phones
Survey: Cell phones for little kids, how young is too young?
My cousin bought a working cell phone for his 4 year old daughter and I’ll admit I was shocked. I didn’t get my first cell until after I had turned 18 and only after I had a job to pay for it. I understand that cell phones can be a boon in today’s fast paced world especially to keep up with busy teenagers but I’m seeing cell phone toys for babies and little 6 and 7 year olds with cell phones. Is it conscientious parenting to allow cell phones at a young age or a buy in to the technological rush?
I don’t believe kids under high school age need cell phones.
I don’t really see why ANYONE really needs one; we all existed fine without them, but I wouldn’t get one for a kid under high school age. [14 or 15]
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12 or under is too young.
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anything age below 10 is bad. the right age should be 12+
i didn’t get one tell 14
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Until you are sophomore in high school, you don’t need a cell
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I think anything under 13 is too young
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My sister got her cell phone when she was 9 and now shes 10. I got my first cell phone when I was 13. I think under age 12 is too young. My sister gets texts like, "Emily was raped if you dont pass this on….." She dosent even know what raped means.
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I think they have to be old enough keep up with it and not let it lost or broken, and I think they have to be able to pay for it them self.
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I got my kids one around 10ish. When my son went outside and I couldn’t find him all I had to do was call him. It was me wanting them to have one cause it made my life easier in ways. Really they don’t use them for anything other then getting touch with family. They aren’t into texting and all that yet..
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In general, I’d say that for any child less than 10 years old (or in general, the age when they start to go out by themselves or with child friends) a cell phone is not necessary.
The only reason a child (less than 13-14 yo) should use a cell phone is to stay in touch with his/her parents, if there are no other means of communication, and the parents should really monitor how the phone is used.
I’ve seen the kind of messages that kids read and pass on, and I don’t think it’s safe for them – the younger kids are not aware of possible dangers, and the preadolescents, who know a bit more, think that the "bad things" will never happen to them.
Of course in the case of teenagers who go out on their own, cell phones are really useful, but 4 years old? I wonder if that baby goes out shopping by herself, LOL.
Also, there’s another aspect to the whole cell phone market that I dislike: at least where I live, the kids compete to see who has the coolest/newest cell phone, with the most features – things they don’t need at all. Some parents spend lots of money on equipment that is not designed for the kids to play, and which ends up broken or lost, only for them to ask for a new/better one. All they are doing is fostering their children’s consumerism from a very young age.
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I got a cell phone when I turned 15, and that was because I was learning to drive and would be getting my license soon. The main reason I got my phone was to keep in touch with my parents when I needed a ride home or to let them know where I was. Once I got my license, it was to be used in case of emergencies and to let my parents know I got to my destination.
I really see no reason for children younger than 14 to have cell phones. As far as students calling parents after games and school activities to be picked up, the schools around here will let them use the school phone to call home. There is no need for younger children to have cell phones. There is too much of a chance for them to get in trouble, let their friends use it, access expensive things such as the internet, and texting too much.
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