Perhaps the primary question you should ask is "does my teen need a cell phone?" In this day and age, the phone is almost a necessity for some teens. Your job as a parent is to determine if your child falls under this category. Emergency situationsCell phones come with many uses. For teens, the most vital service they offer--although they might disagree--is the ability to call for help at anytime. They are essentially a lifeline in troubling situations. If your teens are driving, for example, it might be prudent for them to have a cell phone handy in case of a car emergency. Ran Wei, a reseracher, argues that cell phones maintain cohesion with family and friendship groups. He invokes the 9-11 attack and maintains that the cell phone’s ability to deliver messages of “I am okay” and “I love you” that keeps families solid.
Parental Peace of Mind/Perpetual ContactReciprocally, you might find that giving a phone to their children actually benefits you, the parents, as well. With a cell phone, some parents require their children to call every hour or so if the child is out past curfew. The excuse that "No payphone was around" is no longer valid. Just knowing that your teen can call should a bad incident occur is the true definition of an added perk. In numerous cases, cell phones have saved lives and prevented unfortunate events.Schedule synchronizationsIf your teen is involved with many activities, synchronizing their many events with your hectic schedule can be cumbersome. Perhaps their soccer practice was rescheduled to today, or a group project will take longer than expected. Being able to coordinate your plans is just a phone call away and the cost of maintaining a cell phone can pay itself in saving time.Social interactions/teen liberationOf course, your teen isn't demanding a cell phone just to talk to you. Teens want cell phones to connect to their friends, and this most likely will be their primary use. However, this form of social interaction might be important for your teen. When teens say "everyone has one" and it is the new cool thing, they aren't lying. At least, surveys seem to support this claim.
Now certainly, that everyone has one doesn't mean your kid should as well. Indeed, this should not be the sole reason for owning a cell phone and does seem materialistic. Regardless, at such a developing age, interacting with peers is important to becoming a functioning person in society. The cell phone, then, can be seen as a device that connects to another network: a network of friends. Similarly, the cell phone can help the teen's social development by providing a level of liberation. Researcher Dylan Tutt claims that forming a child’s identity requires some level of creating his or her own space, much like a room. Owning a personal cell phone serves a similar experience, Tutt continues. This liberation from parents marks teens' progression to defining themselves as individuals. (Source: Tutt, "Mobile Performances of a Teenager:A Study Situated Mobile Phone Activity in the Living Room".) Teaching responsibility and managementMaintaining a cell phone does involve mature judgment. If instructed on ettiquette, teens will know the appropriate times to use a cell phone.Also, a cell phone is a responsibility. Every month, teens are granted a finite amount of minutes and texts. Teaching them to manage these resources is tantamount to managing a budget. They will also learn that repercussions may result from overusing these resources. |