You can’t walk down the street without seeing kids, younger than teens, using their new smartphone. Technology is so readily available to children today and there is the question arising of whether or not this is a good thing for them, especially mobile phones.
I remember growing up when mobile phones were not a big ‘thing’, instead they were only used to call or txt, and usage was limited due to having to use credit (paying for your services). My first smartphone was a Blackberry, which I got on contract when I was 14; I am so grateful that I got to enjoy my younger years before I became obsessed with my phone! However, it is not the same for children today, the average age a child gets their first smartphone is 10.3 years old (techcrunch.com).
Don’t get me wrong, phones are not the enemy, I use mine more than I have face-to-face conversations each day and they can be really helpful; especially with the millions of apps available, you can pretty much do everything on them.
I just think that the world can be such an ugly place, especially if you are constantly comparing yourself and your life to others’ (on social media platforms which are easily accessible on smartphones) and we owe it to kids to keep their youth for as long as possible. Let them enjoy the simpler things, like water balloons and books!
Also, I have met a lot of parents who ‘live’ on their phones and I find it upsetting watching them film/take thousands of pics of their children rather than putting down the phone and getting involved with what they’re doing! Seeing their parents on their phones so much will obviously teach kids that phones are almost as important as a limb.
I believe that the problem with kids and phones is age-dependent. Perhaps then, a good idea, would be to restrict mobile usage until children become teens. If it was a rule for everyone it would reduce that social pressure and it would let kids be kids. However, society is so obsessed with and revolved around phones that I don’t expect anything to change anytime soon because kids cannot simply live phone-free.
