It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when cell phones were somewhat of a luxury. They were also about 10 times chunkier than the average cell phone today. Now it?s more like cell phones are a necessity, one that we don?t really think twice about. It?s almost a given that a person is equipped with one, and ?phone? is almost synonymous with ?cell phone.? At first it was considered a novelty for anyone to own a mobile, but we got over that and then it was a novelty when teenagers had one, and now it?s almost becoming less of a novelty for elementary school kids to have a phone of their own.
But cell phones for children are still a novel enough idea that older folks are stunned, outraged, and concerned. Do kids have enough responsibility to have their own cell phones, and do they even really need one? To detractors, it?s nonsense to allow cell phones for children because it?s preposterous to think that a fifth grader would need a cell phone the way that a traveling business person might, even if they were smarter. A business person would be flying across the globe, while a fifth grader would be walking down a few blocks. The business person would need to seal deals and book flights; the fifth grader would need a ride home that they were already going to get anyway. Even if kids are growing up faster than ever, having them equip themselves with cell phones the way that the adults do is a huge leap. It?s kind of like clothes for dogs?cute idea, but is it really necessary?
One of the most recent arguments against cell phones for children have to do with the effects of radiation on young, developing brains. Do you realize, they protest, that brains don?t stop developing until the age of 20? There?s a different kind of development going on here?do you realize that recent research says that cell phone usage is positively correlated with the growth of brain tumors? Our cell phones are giving off radiation all the time. They radiate when we make and take calls, and even when we?re not using them. As long as those creatures live they wreak havoc. Will we allow more and more young casualties in return for communication comfort?
We?re hard pressed to find someone we know, or someone we know who knows someone who died from cell phone radiation brain tumors. Yet there?s something about cell phones for children that doesn?t sit right with a lot of us.
Tags: cell phones for children