Children and cellphones

Children and cellphones

Introduction

The 21^st century has had its fair share of technological advancements with most people describing it as the digital age. One of these revolutions is the development in telecommunication especially after the invention of smartphone mobiles or cellphones. These gadgets have risen to become among the most essential accessory in anybody’s life. In 2017 alone, 68.4 percent of the total population in the United States used a smartphone, and the figure is likely to increase to about more than 250 million cellphones in 2019. However, the use of smartphones by children has presented a tough parenting question to most parents whether to issue their children with mobile phones. A section of the parents argues that smartphones may bring a lot of harm to children with the others claiming that cellphones have no effects on children. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the use of cellphones by children with regards to their benefits and their disadvantages.

Background information

Cellphones have become increasingly popular with more people getting access to smartphones by the day.  The affordability and availability of these cellphones all over the world contribute to their popularity. Research on the use of smartphones reveals that, apart from the primary function of cellphones such as talking and texting. Most cellphones users have used these gadgets too; access the internet, use mobile applications, send and receive emails, take pictures, access to social media networks, record videos, send and receive images and video messages, GPS mapping services, listen to music, and to get news and updates. Although these uses are useful and convenient, parents and children alike are becoming dependent on these gadgets.

Most parents face the dilemma on how to handle the issue. They hare faced with several questions such as:

1. When is the right time to give a child their first smartphone?
2. What are some of the benefits of issuing a child with a cellphone?
3. What are some of the risks involved when they issue a child with a smartphone?
4. What are the steps they can take to minimize the risks?

Analysis and research

Research by Nielsen, which was released in February 2018, shows that 37 percent of teenagers aged 13 to 17 have a smartphone. 95 percent of teenagers, ages 13 to 17 percent have access to a cellphone (Campbell, pg 3). Research into the use of cellphones showed that 33 percent of teenagers listed texting as their favorite form of communication with an average teen sending at least 30 texts per day. 53 percent said that most of their calls lasted for four minutes or less (Jiang & Monica, pg. 2). This study reveals that most teens use their phones for social media with 31 percent saying social media has had positive impact. Twenty-four percent of the teens described its effect as negative. The next most used function of the youths was texting. According to Campbell (pg. 2), most teenagers may be experiencing altered childhoods because of cellphone technology.

The following are some of the benefits of teenagers using cellphones

1. Communication

Since most families don’t have home phones, mobile phones enable the parents to communicate easily with the children when they are away from home. The teenagers are thus able to communicate in emergencies. The incorporation of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology in cellphones allows parents to locate their children in case they are lost. The technology also enables parents to locate or stolen phones. According to research by Pew Research Center, 75 percent of Americans have used their mobile phones in emergencies. (Jiang & Monica, pg. 2)

2. Opportunities for social contact with peers

Cellphones provide teenagers with means to connect to their friends and peers through social media, texting and in rare instances; phone calls. The cellphones fuel more persistent online activities like making status updates, Instagram and Facebook. 88 percent of teenage cell phone users connect through text messaging (Jiang & Monica, pg. 2). According to the Pew Research Center, 89 percent of teenagers use social media with 45 percent of teenagers saying that they are constantly online (Jiang & Monica, pg. 2). It shows the level of interaction these teens have with their peers on their phones.

3. Cellphones as educational tools

Teenagers and college students can access and download lectures, lesson plans and other applications designed to be used in education. These cellphones also provide access to books in their digital format, many educational podcast, and informational videos. According to the Pew Research Centre, 74 percent of teachers say that mobile phones enable them to reinforce and expand content. Most of the teachers (71 %) believe that educational apps are beneficial in learning (Jiang & Monica, pg. 2).

4. Entertainment

Cellphones may act as a source of entertainment to teenagers. They can download and stream music from their phones. They can also watch videos and funny clips on YouTube. This makes the life of the teenager interesting and reduces stress among teenagers. The teenager also accesses tutorials from sites which help in building the teenagers creativity.

5. Training on life skills

Life skills of responsibility can be imparted on teenagers by use of their phones. The teenager learns how to take care of the cellphone hence learning to be responsible. The teenager learns how to be responsible for their privacy at a young age. In research by Pew Research Center, 83 percent of teenagers said that they were concerned about their privacy online. This show the level of responsibility they portray from the user of the mobile phone. Parents can also use mobile phones as a bargaining tool as a way of making teenagers do some tasks as a way of bribery and blackmail.

6. Cellphones as wellness tools

Cellphones may contain applications that help in teenager’s wellness. Some of the applications include Android and BlackBerry Endomondo sports Tracker application and iPhone Men’s Health Workouts. These apps can be used by the teenagers to ensure they are physically fit thus reducing their chances of catching diseases and illnesses.

Despite these benefits of cellphones to teenagers, the use of cellphones without supervision and monitoring presents the following problems;

1. Smartphone addiction

Smartphones have become an important part of every day’s activities and personal life.  Smartphone use has become addictive in some teenagers. Research reveals that 80 percent of smartphone users check their phones within 1 hour of going to sleep or waking up with 35 of them checking the phones within 5 minutes. Addiction has been caused by overexposure to information and data, for instance, games. According to Campbell,(pg. 3), addiction has also been caused by the excessive use of social media networks and other relationship-driven content. Pew Research Centre shows that 45 percent of teenagers are online multiple times a day (Jiang & Monica, pg. 2). Some of the adverse effects of addiction are; anxiety, narcissism, stress, loneliness and depression, sleep deprivation, attention deficit disorder and sleep deprivation.

2. Risk of cancer

Electromagnetic radiation emitted by cellphones gets absorbed into the body tissues when the cell phone is held for longer durations. Teenagers are at a higher risk because of less robust immune systems. These radiations pose serious health risks and may affect brain rhythms resulting in headaches, memory loss, and insomnia.

3. Distracted driving

Most accidents have been caused by drivers using their cellphones while driving. This report is according to a study by the National Safety Council. 49 percent of teenagers believe that texting is a distraction to their driving.

4. Huge bills

The use of mobile phones by teenagers may result in a higher phone bill. These huge bills tend to drain the families income in paying for the monthly bills. These charges may come as a result of excess minutes, texts and SMS message fees.

5. Cyberbullying

Most teenagers are at risk of cyberbullying when accessing social media sites. Studies show that 87 percent of teenagers witnessed cyberbullying. 53 percent of the victims reacted with defensiveness while the remaining percentage deleted their social media accounts. The research also shows that close to 16 percent of teens from ages 13 to 17 were still affected after a cyber-bullying attack and nearly 30 percent wanted to revenge against their cyber bully (Jiang & Monica, pg. 2).

6. Increased anxiety

During texting, most teenagers showed signs of anxiety. This anxiety was brought about by a delayed response or no response from a friend.

7. Teen Tendonitis (TTT)

This condition is brought about by excess messaging. Teen tendonitis leads to pain in the hands, back, and neck caused by bad posture. The condition can also lead to impaired vision and arthritis (Campbell, pg 3).

Contributions

It is evident that the risks of cellphone use in teenagers outweigh the benefits. Parents should exercise control over the cellphone use of their teenage. Parents can use the following tactics to stop their teenager’s addiction to smartphones.

• The parent can nurture other interests in their kids by involving them in more social and physical activities
• Creation of rules around the house that restricts the use of smartphones in certain areas of the house, for instance, no phones at the dinner table.
• Encouraging them to switch off the cell phones while driving.

Some mobile phone manufacturers have developed soft wares that help deal with smartphone addiction. These soft wares include Apple’s iOS update. Parents can also use Qustodio and WebWatcher to monitor the child’s text messages, emails and chat app activity. These soft wares offer complete tracking and reporting abilities which help the parent monitor the teenager’s online activity.

Summary and conclusion

Cellphones have proven to be very important in daily activities. However, they still present risks to teenagers when used without supervision. Parents should, therefore, ensure control over their children’s cellphone activities. Control over their cellphones activities will not only safeguard the teenager but also save the parent from unnecessary expenses. Teenagers should ensure they use cellphone gadgets appropriately and avoid addiction to them.

Work cited

Anderson, Monica, and Jingjing Jiang. “Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018”. Pew     Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, 2018,            http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/.

Campbell, Leah. “Smart Phones And Children”. Healthline, 2019,   https://www.healthline.com/health-news/smart-phones-causing-kids-to-experience-    altered-childhoods.

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