Cellphones are a detriment to youth
By Jenna Sedmak
Nexus (Camosun College)
March 11, 2009
VICTORIA (CUP) – I try to call a friend, but the battery on my cellphone dies and my memory fails me, so I’m stuck with no idea what number to dial.
As a kid, I not only had the phone numbers of all my friends and family memorized, but also the local pizza place and video store.
A digitized phone book in the palm of my hand has made things easier, but it has let me down occasionally.
I've noticed cellphone users are getting younger and their dependency on their virtual leash is growing stronger.
These kids are messaging their friends while they’re out for dinner. Not just one or two short messages, but an ongoing electronic conversation with someone who isn’t even in the room.
Their parents half-heartedly say: “Please put your phone away,” but there isn’t much luck.
I asked a parent of a young cellphone owner why they don't just take the phone away, and the answer was: “It’s for the safety of my child.”
I understand cellphones offer security not possible in previous generations. If there’s an emergency, help is only a phone call away. I can empathize with parental concern, but phones are available only for calling emergency numbers – no text, no camera, no Internet.
But that’s not good enough. In order to remain cool with their friends, youths want a top-of-the-line phone because: “Mommmm, everybody has one!”
Once the parents are fooled, these phones are rarely used for emergencies, or even just important calls. Chatting and texting with friends during class, after school, and on the weekend is the hip new way to keep in touch.
I understand cellphones are a very positive form of technology, and I appreciate the convenience of being able to make a phone call while I’m out, but I’m not dependent on it.
I worry future generations will become more and more detached from humanity. I fear the youth will spend more and more time in their virtual worlds, becoming apathetic to other people in their lives.
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