Youth Culture and Cell Phones
Mobile phones are becoming to the youth of today what rock and roll was to the youth of the 1960s. Approximately 80% of all teenagers worldwide have cell phones and have developed their own language and social groups away from the prying eyes of their parents.
In Japan, teenagers are obsessed with their cell phones. Some experts estimate that 96% of all Japanese children will have cell phones by the time they reach high school. A study shows that these children spent between 90 and 125 minutes every day on their phones, using them to read books, chat with friends, surf the Internet, or listen to music. Many experts suggest that these young people are using these cell phones for safety. , since the amount of use increased with the children who had problems at home.
American children have been using cell phones to form friendships and social groups away from their families, feeling that these phones granted them privacy they would not otherwise have. While some kids still talk to their parents, many more prefer to communicate with them via text so kids don’t have to answer any questions they don’t want to. This also creates the problem of children misinterpreting their parents’ moods because simple text messages don’t show the difference between sarcasm and anger. As cell phone use becomes even more widespread (some experts estimate that by 2010, 81% of Americans between the ages of 5 and 24 will own a cell phone), parent-child communication may become even more more impersonal.
Another problem with today’s kids’ obsession with cell phones is the fact that some kids admit to texting while driving. While some states have banned talking on a cell phone while behind the wheel, it may be interesting to see how the government handles the act of texting while driving. After all, the driver can keep the phone out of sight while texting.
A serious issue related to youth and cell phones came to light in a survey of college students. Of 305 of these students, 40% of cell phone users admitted that they walked somewhere after dark that they would never have gone before they had their cell phones. ¾ of these students admitted that they felt safer thanks to these devices. In reality, experts agree that these students are more vulnerable because they are less likely to pay attention to their surroundings, as many of these cell phone users also admitted to walking into traffic while talking.
Other countries are also reporting other serious problems related to youth and cell phone use. In Japan, young women visited a dating site and several had unwanted sex with the men who contacted them. In Britain, some children have reported being bullied by their cell phones.
As more young people have access to cell phones, they may need to learn that, like everything in life, there is a price to pay. Let’s hope that for some of these children, the price is not too high.