According to the Center on Media and Child Health, 54 percent of 8- to 12-year-olds will have a cell phone in the next three years.
So by 2011 more tweens will have cellphones than they will dictionaries, calculators or any other handheld device—-electronic or otherwise.
Scary.
Is life really unimaginable without these handy devices?
For some parents the answer is a wholehearted: “Yes!”
A recent survey found that most parents who bought their kids cellphones say they did so for “convenience” and “safety” reasons. In fact, some parents revealed that the allure of GPS tracking capability inspired them to purchase cellphones for children as young as three. Said parents rationalize that the cellphone was a wise investment given that the phone could help locate their child in the event young Bobby or Sally should get lost in a crowd.
Other parents maintain that doling out cellphones to their offspring allows them to keep tabs on their kids 24/7 and eliminates needless mix-ups. For example, if Sally said she would be waiting at the North entrance of the mall for a 2 p.m. pick up, but she and her friends are running late and now want you to meet them at the South entrance, a single phone call could communicate that. A cellphone also means your kids have immediate access to you or 911 assistance in case of an emergency.
Conversely, giving a cellphone to an 8-year-old also has its downsides. For starters, how many 8-year-olds do you know that can go an entire week without losing something? I have a 12-year-old cousin who can’t even keep track of his shoes on a daily basis. What’s more, cellphones are not cheap. Ditto for cell phone plans and overage charges to cover chatty Cathy’s habit of sharing every single detail of every single event that has transpired in the course of a day with her circle of friends. Let’s not forget young David’s expensive habit of downloading everything in sight. Then there’s the nagging concern of the long-term effect cellphones’ radiation waves have on developing bodies.
All of this begs the question: How young is too young for a child to own a cellphone?
Does your child have a cellphone? If so at what age did you get him/her one?
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