Mobile Phones R Not Necessary for Teens

659 Words3 Pages
Cell phones were created so adults could carry phones with them, in their pockets and purses, and make calls from wherever they happened to be. No longer would they have to search for a phone booth. They could take their business and connection to the world with them, wherever they went. But today, according to a Pew Resource Center survey conducted in 2011, 77% of American teens own a phone. A separate survey by Nielsen revealed that teens, on average, send more than three thousand texts per month. The practicality of the cell phone has turned into an out-of-control craze. I surveyed the parents of fifth through eighth graders at my school as to their opinions about children owning phones. From those who supported cell phone use, two main rationales emerged: a child needs a phone to communicate with family members, and, in an emergency situation, a phone is a valuable resource for a child. In theory, these are valid reasons; in practice, they don’t apply to most teens’ lives or circumstances. In general, teens are not using their phones for these reasons. According to Nielsen, most of teenagers’ three thousand texts per month are to friends, socializing in ways not crucial to their safety or helpful to their people skills. As one CTL parent put it, “If they have one [a phone], they will use it as they see fit, perhaps not as intended.” Connecting with one’s family and friends is an important part of a teen’s life. Through conversations with friends, kids learn how to interact, argue, think, and feel for themselves. But these days, phones are replacing face-to-face conversations, and children are losing important social skills. The loss of these skills can hamper a child’s ability to develop solid relationships with peers and adults. The text lingo—full of emoticons, misspellings, and slang—is a language that hurts people’s ability to communicate
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