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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Cellphones appropriate age?

children with cellphones
I think that having a cell phone, website account or any other type of account depends on the maturity of the child or when the teenager goes to high school. Having said that I think that there is no specific age for a teenager to have phone.  The Pew Research Center study shows that 58% of twelve year olds already have a phone. That same study also showed that kids between the ages of 12-17 have a cell phone. In the UK teenagers get there first phone at eight years old, which seems young to me but again it depends on the parent. In 1999 everyone got there first phone at 20 years old.

Times have changed and technology has also but I think parents still need to give children the time to develop social skills and relations with each other face to face before cellphones and other social media accounts become involved such as Facebook and twitter.  Eight year olds in elementary schools now have cellphones and the age seems to be decreasing. With this growing number of children with cellphones schools have realized new rules to deal with cellphones on school properties.




Teens and Cellphones

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Why are teens Sexting and what is it?


Fall 2009- Sexting from Wicked Truth on Vimeo.

Sexting is sending sexually explicit or photographs messages between cell phones or any other communication device.  A great deal of teens are involved in this activity and maybe pressured into this by their peers or to impress someone who they think they are interested in. Teens need to be aware that even though they are not having sex that sexting is dangerous. After viewing the video you maybe surprised at the casual way teens talk about the topic of sexting.

I don’t think teens fully understand the legal consequences of their actions. If they are found guilty and are involved in these activities they can be charged with producing, possessing, and/or distributing child pornography. There are also other consequences for these actions such as rumors, harassment, social and psychological factors that can affect those involved. Parents also need to educate their children on sexting. I have included several tips from NetSmartz workshop on sexting.

THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES
NEVER TAKE IMAGES
You wouldn’t want everyone to see
BEFORE HITTING SEND
Remember that you can’t control where this image may travel
IF YOU FORWARD
A sexual picture of someone underage, you are as responsible for
this image as the original sender.

Teens and Sexting

Sunday, February 20, 2011

How much Texting is Too Much?

Most of the time when you see a teenager, they are either on the phone or if not, you bet they are texting! Two-thirds of teenagers say that they will text their friends then actually call them over the phone. Four out of five teens say that they sleep with their phones next to their beds. The majority of all adults send about 10 text messages per day; an average teenager sends and receives about 3,339 per month.

Texting is the main form of communication for most teenagers. Almost every teenager I know has a phone or access to a phone.  What is considered the right age for a cellphone? And at what age are our children given their own cellphones? In the long run some experts suggest that this may affect the way they are able to communicate verbally. In my opinion as long as there is a balance between texting and talking there should be no issues, however as parents we do need to monitor how much time is spent texting versus other forms of communication

Digital Abuse

Besides all the other issues teens are dealing with on a daily basis, they also have to include yet another which may cause issues within their relationships digital abuse. Teens are in constant contact with each other using various methods. They need to be aware of peer pressure even using these forms of communication. Relationships are not limited to when teens see each other and talk over the phone anymore; they can send messages pictures and even video calls using programs such as Skype and Ovoo.

With access to these and other forms of communication teens need to know that this could lead to other issues such as unnecessary messages that may threatening to them. There are also times when pictures are sent and requested by peers, girlfriends or boyfriends that show nudity and violent activities. In 2009 Verizon was involved in a campaign to make teenagers more aware of the use of these practices which were not safe and could lead to serious issues if continued. Teens need to be aware of the responsibility that comes along with the use of technology.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Cyber Bullying

Technology has positive characteristics and some negative ones as well; it all depends on your perspective as a parent, adult or even teenager. Cyber bullying or any type of bullying is very serious matter and it has been addressed as such. I will define the meaning of cyber bullying, it is the use of modern communication technologies to embarrass, humiliate, threaten, or intimidate an individual in an attempt to gain power and control over someone else. Some incidents have occurred involving the use of cyber bulling that has led to some seriously dangerous outcomes for those involved.
Almost thirty percent of students in grades six through ten are involved with cyber bullying or some other form of bullying. Everyday 160,000 students do not attend school as they fear being bullied. Bullying is a serious crime and should be addressed as such. Cyber bullying can lead to suicide, teenagers attempting to hurt themselves physically and it can also lead to very low self-esteem if continued undetected. There are several websites that focus on this issue; I have included links and one specifically that addresses cyber bullying laws.  

Text Messaging

Text messaging seems to be affecting the social growth of our youth.  They are so engaged in communicating with those who are not involved in the activity taking place at that particular moment that they are unable to focus on the event that they are supposed to be involved in. The event actually taking place becomes less important especially in family events involving activities to foster social growth and enhance family togetherness. I think that text message has affected the social development of teenagers; so much of their communication is done through text messaging or even on the computer that some are unable to function effectively in real life situations.
In my opinion church is the perfect example of where teenagers’ use of text messaging should be restricted as this activity is meant to foster the spiritual growth and social awareness of the teenager. At my church for instance they have included an announcement advising them to take phones off so that they are not distracted. Nevertheless, some are still texting during services, this is not only disrespectful to the person speaking but also distracting for those who may want to concentrate on the activity taking place. Teenagers need to be educated and made more aware of their use of text messaging regarding the appropriate time and place for this to be done.  

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Technology Addiction?

Questions are being raised regarding technology addition in teenagers. In a world where everyone has a cell phone, laptop or some device to talk or listen to music on, can it really be considered an addiction? Looking around it seems as though teenagers always have some gadget to occupy themselves at any given time. Doing one task at a time is unusual, most teenagers may be observed listening to music and completing assignments all at once. Multitasking seems to be the norm.

Is this going to have long term effects on the teens of tomorrow? Will there social skills be affected? Some reports “claim” that there is a correlation between the time spent on the internet, drug use, sexual activities and drinking. If this is true remains to be seen.  In my opinion, as with everything else teens need to be monitored while using the internet, cellphones and attention should also be given to the type of games that being played by our teens.  Over exposure to sex and violence could have repercussions in the future.

Lack of Teen Activity

Recently, a lot of focus is placed on the increasing obesity in both young children and teenagers.  According to redorbit.com experts suggest that there is a link between technology, caffeine and increasing obesity. Teens are staying up later at night which means they are not getting the rest they need. The average person needs at least eight hours of sleep to function efficiently. With this in mind, one may wonder “How are teens functioning with limited rest?”  Poor eating habits, along with lack of sleep results in weight gain which is an issue for teens.

With so many new games and online activities capturing the attention of teenagers, it is difficult to persuade them to engage in outdoor sports and activities. More energy and focus seem to be placed on the latest PlayStation 3, Wii, and the Nintendo DSI games. Unfortunately, statistics have shown teenagers spend limited time outside entertaining and participating in outdoor activities. Constant gaming and online activities has increased the amount of time spent indoors. Unfortunately, lack of exercise has attributed to the growing number of overweight teenagers.

Below is the link for redorbit .com