Kids, Phones and Boundaries
Most times I find myself reminiscing about the first time I got my first phone, I still remember it like it was yesterday. My dad had called me into the living room and moved over to where his desk was and handed a 3310 phone over to me.. The joy I felt that day was out of this world.
You see amongst my peers, I was the only one with a mobile phone at the time, and although the phone SIM card slot was damaged, I didn't care because all I needed a phone for anyways was to play games. Day by day I would take it outside while my friends surrounded me like I was a king, each eagerly waiting for their turn to either play the car race game or the snake game that was on the phone.
But they say nothing good last forever, because it didn't take long for me to lose the phone on our way to church, after my mom had repeatedly asked me to leave it at home that day. That was probably the first time I got my first heartbreak, and it was unbearable.
Many years have passed since then, and I've used far more better phones than that one, phones with perfectly working SIM slot, I might add.
Luckily for this generation, the world has advanced and it seems like everyone has a smart phone now, but at what age should kids be allowed to have smartphones, I've often asked myself..at what age would I be comfortable with my kids having a smartphone.
If this were the times when phones weren't as smart as they are now, this probably wouldn't even be that much of a topic to talk about. And this is because I could simply get one of those 3310's for my kids and not really worry much about what they do with it because for the most part, I know it will mainly be used for SMS and phone calls.
But like I said, phones have gotten smart during the years and with it comes a lot of things to worry about. One of it being fear of your kid meeting certain predators online, so now you have to be careful and make sure they're not chatting with the wrong people.
Another thing to worry about is them stumbling on erotic materials or seeing certain things they shouldn't be seeing at that age, online. I remember the first time that happened to me, I was on my mom's phone making use of her Google search and I had clicked on images, what I saw that day refused to leave my mind for a very long time.
Luckily for us though, I think there are settings on mobile phones now that prevent access to things like that.
Anyways, aside from those two reasons, there are many other reasons why giving a child a smartphone might seem like a bad idea, but at the end of the day, we also have to look at the benefits of them also having a smartphone, one of it being able to talk to them whenever and where ever we want, using any of the many features available, even on facetime.
At the end of the day, the only solution to this problem that I can think of would be educating your kids on the dangers of having a smartphone, while also keeping an eye on them to make sure they're not putting themselves in danger.
I support your idea of actually teaching the kids about the do's and don'ts and the actual risks that they can fall into with the untethered access of smartphones. They need to realize what is at stake. Because unless they do, they might end up doing something harmful only to face the consequence afterwards without any prior knowledge. And that might break them. Truth be told, today's world is much harder for a child to grow in because these particular devices have become so much more than just what they were meant to be. Like the 3310 had calls and texts and maybe games, but today's phones, my oh my.
The advancement of these techs has made it difficult to be on top of things and ensure that your kids are safe. That is why rather than want to do things alone, it will be best to educate them on the dangers, so that they too could help you out and maybe come to you when they encounter something suspicious while making use of their smartphones.
A fine assessment sir.