Should children as young as 8 own mobile phones?
A RECENT edition of RTÉ’s Reeling Back the Years covered 1995 and it showed a fresh-faced Denis O’Brien beaming at the camera after getting news that he had won the battle for the country’s second mobile phone licence.
Wielding a brick-sized phone, he looked straight ahead and predicted that “every child over 10 will have one of these within the next five years”.
Everyone thought he was mad or delusional. In fact, he probably underestimated the extent to which we in Ireland — a nation of talkers — would embrace mobile phone technology.
The item O’Brien had in his hand was probably the most up-to-date phone of its day but, 16 years on, it looks about as hi-tech as an old valve radio.
What hasn’t quite kept up to date with technology, though, is the sociological context in which mobile phones, iPads and other paraphernalia have become part of our daily lives.
The question is, who should have them? Should their use be restricted by age, place or time?
Some restrictions, such as cinemas, theatres, churches, already exist and are widely accepted.
The latest debate is on whether children as young as eight should be forbidden to use mobile phones. If you Google ‘mobile phones for eight-year-olds’ you will find a lively debate among mothers, most of whom think that children should be barred from their use.
There is a measure of control freakery about this. Presenting the argument ‘we had none of those gadgets when we were young...’ is Pythonesque nonsense and ignores the fact that children from a very young age absorb the world as they find it — not as it used to be ‘in the good old days’. Similarly, suggesting ‘it will make them lazy and fat’ sidesteps the separate need to ensure your child gets enough exercise.
There is nothing intrinsically dangerous about a mobile phone so why regard it as beyond the limits of an eight-year-old? Is it a fear that it might allow children to stray from parental control? You could argue the opposite and point to the benefits for parents of being able to contact children in a hurry.
Yes, they can be irritating and yes, they can be intrusive, but parents should also recognise the great advantages they offer youngsters. They are, I believe, a very much under-utilised educational tool. Mobile phones aren’t all talk and are increasingly used for texting.
Not since the days of Jane Austen has a generation engaged so much with the written word. The use of computers, laptops, iPads and phone texts may not improve your child’s spelling, but it will help with composition and with organisational and spacial tasks. Think about that the next time you refuse your eight year old on the basis of your needs and not his or hers. Why not set parameters for phone use? Sometimes it is better to say ‘Yes, but...’ than a stark and ill-considered ‘No’.
I remember a time when 10 was considered the appropriate age for boys to be allowed wear long pants. Up to that age you had go around in short pants even in the depths of winter when legs would turn blue with the cold.
Who made up that daft rule? An adult.
So who is deciding that eight (or nine or 10) is too young to be in possession of a mobile phone? Not the eight, nine or 10 year olds, that’s for sure.
Maybe it’s time for adults to grow up and to allow children to do the same.
By Irene Feighan
OF course your primary school child wants a mobile. It’s a lifestyle thing. Following in your hyper-connected steps, he wants to chat with friends whenever the mood takes him, send texts to a group of buddies about the latest online game, or ring when he is ready to be picked up or needs something from the shops.
Is any of this essential? In a word, no. A landline can be used to stay in touch with friends, online finds can be discussed in the yard at lunchtime and — as parents have done for generations — you can arrange to meet your child at a specific time and place after school, match or class.
Last year, my fourth-class son announced that it was high time he got a phone. Why? Because his buddy had one, it had cool games and he could call me if he wanted something from Smyths.
Understandable thinking for a nine-year-old but not what you would describe as a compelling argument.
I pointed out his school had a no-phone policy and that it was a costly toy to maintain. Furthermore, I harped on, it could damage his developing brain and that, in a choppy sea of scientific research, most scientists agree that, if mobiles are dangerous, children may be more vulnerable than grown ups to ill-effects.
“So can I get one when I’m in sixth class then?” he asked, ignoring my tirade.
Of course it is reassuring to always have your child at the other end of a phone. And mobile phone manufacturers are only too happy to flood the market. From Hello Kitty to Winnie the Pooh, there are kiddie-friendly phones aplenty — Firefly has a very cute two-button version, one for each parent. But the message it sends your child could be a dangerous one.
Supplying your child with a mobile suggests you are always available, which you are not. You may be out of range or at a meeting with your phone on silent mode. If something goes wrong, your child needs to know it’s important to approach the adult in charge — be it in the school yard or on the pitch — for immediate help. Waiting for mum or dad to pick up may only lead to further problems.
More worryingly, a mobile could also leave a child vulnerable to anonymous bullying, which could leave lifelong emotional scars.
I plan on holding out until my son starts secondary school, at the ripe old age of 12. By that stage, he will be away from intense adult supervision and, without the fall-back of a teacher or coach to keep an eye on things, it makes sense to give him a mobile when he will be getting a bus every day, may be late to finish a match, or decide to head off to a friend’s house at short notice. It will also give me a bit more breathing space in case I’m running late.
Mind you, I have no intention of keeping him in credit beyond his weekly pocket money. It will be up to him to manage his accounts.
And what of the health risks? I will have to take comfort from the American National Cancer Institute’s report on a recent international study, which compared children who were diagnosed with brain cancer between ages seven and 19 with similar children who were not. The researchers found no relationship between their use of mobile phones and risk for brain cancer.
