Studies show that the average age children get their first cell phone...

[thiskidd24]

... is 8 years old!

This is not brand new news, but astounding nonetheless. I don't have kids and I'm not old school. I'm a tech savvy college student, but somehow I think that 8 year olds with iPhones is a little out of hand. Personally, if I was a parent, I would not let my child have a cell phone until they were in middle school at the earliest. I know parents want their children to be safe at school or whatever, but children don't need iPhones to be safe.

Even if they do have cell phones, I think that they should have limited use in schools. Since adolescents send an average of 80 text messages a day (2002), that shows they are using them in school during times that they probably shouldn't be using them. I don't know what schools could do about this. I don't think that they should be allowed to hold or confiscate them, but I don't think that kids should be able to get away with this either.

What do you guys think? When did you have you first cell phone if you got one when you were a kid? Do you think this is all getting a little out of hand? If you were to be or are a parent, when or when do you plan on letting your children have cell phones? What important rules would you implement?

 

[RationalLunacy]

When I was that age, you had to borrow a dime from one of your buddies to go across the street to the phone booth next to the drug store to call in a bomb threat at school.

Now you can do it from the convenience of your own desk right in the classroom.

[Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been, a bomb threat caller-inner.]

 

[Apollo]

does this study include those kiddie cell phones that can only dial 911 and their parents?

 

[onetwothreefour]

i bought myself my own cell phone in 11th grade before anyone else in my family had one, before most people in general had one...it was SO EXCITING....i had 40 minutes a month...i got it because i had to drive myself 20 minutes to school (school had no bus service) and i hated driving and i had terrible panic disorder and a car that was liable to break down and my parents could not have been worried less about me, so i had to worry extra about myself! so i don't feel bad about having had one in high school, i felt it was necessary

i just miss the days of feeling like it was cool and new, like the days when i first had a laptop, what's the new cool thing? almost everyone has a cell phone and laptop now

 

[hungrybrownbear]

I got my first cellphone at 18 years old.

 

[gsdx]

When asked, parents usually claim that they buy phones for their children so they can keep in touch with them, or, more to the fact, so the children can keep in touch with their parents.

I sincerely believe that calling Mommy is the last thing on their minds.

No child that age really needs a cell phone. It's become a status symbol, and the parents will buy the best one on the market in order to show the world that their children are not deprived.

 

[Lukeee]

I got my first mobile phone when I started high school. My Mum gave me it so I could call her if I got lost or anything on the way home. I hardly ever used it and I still don't use mine much.

 

[thiskidd24]

My 'rents didn't get me a cell phone until I was in the eighth grade, damn near on my way to high school. And I did not need one a moment before then either. WTF does an eight year old need to talk about on a cell phone, you know who are they calling?! You see your little fingerpaint buddies all day, every day in school practically, what is there left to discuss?

Parents have lost their minds these days, no wonder kids are sexting each other like it's nobody's business b/c their simple minded parents dole out the cash for them to have camera phones and internet access w/o boundaries at any age.

If I have them, my kids aren't getting a cell phone until they graduate from middle school first. They better use Morse Code to get in touch with their little friends b/c I don't see the point of them having one before then. My kids will either be at school or with me, any phone call they need to make can be made through one of those two options.

LOL @ sexting... made my day. I remember when I was a senior in hs, there was this soph girl that was sexting and the guy shows everyone at school. It was uber scandalous, but if that happened now, it probably wouldn't have been as big of a deal.

Some of my friends and I (early 20's) have grown up on the internet and this technology stuff through our teens feel like the teens now who have been on the net their whole lives seem to be on a whole other level with all of this. Is this like the biggest generation gap since rock and roll???

 

[thiskidd24]

does this study include those kiddie cell phones that can only dial 911 and their parents?

Yes I believe those kind of cell phones are included. Do those phones marketed towards young children even sell? I feel like 1) kids would be too embarrassed with those kinds of phones and 2) parents are too lazy to research them and find it cheaper to just add another line on their plan.


I haven't read this one, but here is a link to an article about it.

http://gizmodo.com/5156030/on-average-children-get-cellphones-at-age-8

 

[G-Lexington]

It's a totally different world, a totally different mindset. Which is fine, for the most part. It has its ups and downs, like everything else. One of the downs is despite all these communication tools, people still can't communicate. How many threads are there in CO&R where people repost texts (or IM conversations) verbatim, asking "What do you think this means?"

Lex

 

[onetwothreefour]

I'm only 27 (can I still say only at this age..maybe not arggg), but I too remember in middle school having to keep a quarter with me for the pay phones and then having to keep a quarter and a dime! I guess it's still 35 cents, but you don't see pay phones much anymore.

 

[MMMonsterBoy]

I don't really see what the big deal is. Our minds are adapting to this new technology. Parents want their children to feel protected. My little sister [age 10] has a cell phone, but she doesn't have the full rights just yes. My mom got it for her in case of emergencies and such. Of course I didn't get own cell until I was like 16...maybe 17. Either way, I think it is only common for younger kids to own celluar phones. An iPhone though? That's interesting...

 

[Chris1984]

I got my first cell phone when I was old enough to buy my own. Didn't need one before that.

 

[thiskidd24]

I don't really see what the big deal is. Our minds are adapting to this new technology. Parents want their children to feel protected. My little sister [age 10] has a cell phone, but she doesn't have the full rights just yes. My mom got it for her in case of emergencies and such. Of course I didn't get own cell until I was like 16...maybe 17. Either way, I think it is only common for younger kids to own celluar phones. An iPhone though? That's interesting...

I feel like the only valid reason for children younger than, say, 13 to have a cell phone is for safety reasons. There are those phones that are marketed for children that have programmed numbers for them to call their parents, family, and 911. I wonder how popular these things are though? I would think that many kids would be embarrassed and it might be easier for parents to just add a new line on their plan, so most kids just end up getting a regular phone. I'm not really against that either, but I don't think that they should have text, wifi, games, or anything unlimited. Thats the big thing I have against children having cell phones.

My in-laws got their children cell phones and they kept going over their text limit. Did the parents take away their texts? No.... They gave them unlimited texting! Is it just me or is that backwards thinking? The kids don't learn anything about responsibility or controlling their behavior.

 

[braex27]

I see primary school kids with the latest releases... it's... unnerving...

I am also a little envious... hehe

 

[gsdx]

Parents want their children to feel protected.

This, too me, has always been a stupid argument for giving children a cell phone. What do kids do with cell phones? They surf the net. They put up pictures of themselves in various states of undress. They 'chat' with people they don't know and often pass out information which can direct 'undesirables' to their door.

Do these parents not read the horror stories of what happens to kids when they go online?

It's not a 'need to keep in touch with my child'. It's not a 'keep them protected' thing. It's a 'Look! I can afford an iPhone for my kid!'

When I was 8, I was making phones out of a piece of string and empty pea soup cans.

Today, I don't own a cell phone. . . and I never will. I don't need one, and neither do 8-year-old children. They get one only because they want one, and they usually won't settle for anything less than a cell phone which requires a 2-year contract and a credit card to pay for.

 

[Ekim23]

I m not surprised...

But they dont get a cell phone when they're 8 coz their parents wants to protect them.

They just follow the trend, society. Because honestly, right now if you don't have cell phone when you're 10, you're a downer...
(Yeah kids are mean...)

I do think it's way to young tho

 

[gsdx]

Oh yeah... why not throw in a TV, DVD player, GPS, laptop, and a desktop to go with the cell phone? Am I missing anything?

Yeah. An iPod, Blu-Ray, and a Play Station (or any other preferred gaming system, including hand-held units).

 

[pigface]

I dunno about over there, but here, the phone is THE REASON you get attacked/mugged/shot. Its just so easy to mug kiddies.

 

[gsdx]

I'm in my mid-20's and I still don't have a cell phone.

Gotcha beat. I just turned 58 and don't own one. On top of that, I've only ever used one once if merely speaking and listening constitutes 'used'. I neither dialled it nor disconnected the call. I wouldn't even know how.