Cell phones for kids: Pros and Cons

Cell phones, also known as mobiles, have radically changed the face of human contacts since their introduction to the mass-market in the 1980’s and their huge popularity rise during the nineties. This article examines the pros and cons of cell phones for kids.

Pros of kids having kids mobiles

Preventing emergency situations One obvious merit of having cellphones is the almost limitless opportunity for communication.
This is particularly useful for children (and adults) in the case of emergencies (or situations which could otherwise turn into emergencies). For example, one of the benefits of mobile phones is that, with them, parents can let children roam without too much worry of them getting irrevocably lost.
Social aspect Also, they allow children to contact their friends, so that they can arrange to meet up or tell them relevant snippets of information or funny jokes.
The consensus of parents would be that they want their children to grow up to be sociable.

Negatives of kids having mobile phones

Negative social aspect However, the reality is often somewhat different from this utopian vision of young peoples' interaction.
Often kids will, for better or for worse, concern themselves with ‘mere gossip’ and teenage crushes.
Some parents may feel that these are not good uses of time and are unsuitable for kids of a certain age. Happy-slapping and 'txtspeak' Furthermore, in addition to being arguably time wasters, mobiles can be counter-productive, even dangerous, as illustrated by ‘happy-slapping’ (recent phenomenon of filming bullying on mobile phones).
Arguably, mobile phones for kids are counter-productive because they distract kids in class and encourage fast interaction which often results in ‘txtspeak’.
This idiom has been labelled ‘lazy’ use of the English, even corrosive to literacy levels.
‘Unrealistic’ Although mobile phones do encourage socialisation, if used ‘too much’, they can lead to a lack in necessary face-to-face social skills, particularly useful for career prospects (such as interviews), dating and general social life. ‘Waste of money’ Moreover, although many mobiles are cheap, children can be irresponsible while using them. This can cause a hole in their parents’ pockets. Final word
You might want to check out the Firefly company to avoid such cons. Firefly offer kids mobile phones solely with features that are deemed appropriate by parents, on contracts approved and overseen by them and with a specific ‘mum/dad’ call button.