I find it hard to disagree with Louis on this one. Overstimulation is a thing, and we live in a culture where the common case is for a room full of people to be staring at hunks of plastic instead of talking to one another. Let's be honest, given cellphones children are most likely to cyberbully, sext and drastically increase the intensity of the social feedback loop that is adolescence.
Internet access in any form factor can be a gateway to all of the world's knowledge, but the majority of people don't use 4G connections for high minded purposes. I personally have a hard time coming up with a case where an internet connected cell phone is absolutely necessary for anything. In my experience I've usually been able to wait until I get home (with the exception of looking up lost directions).
All of that being said, I don't think cellphones will bring about the end of childhood. "If everybody else is doing it..." isn't the worst argument when it comes to teenaged children, especially for larger values of "everyone else". If cellphones are truly harmful to child development then we're all screwed anyway. The overwhelming majority of teenagers have phones now... what's the point of one person teaching their kids how to communicate the old fashioned way if everybody else in the world is glued to a small screen?
Like everything else that children will be exposed to, cellphones are a matter of self control. It seems like it would be better to have long two way conversations with children about how to socialize properly and how they can be better than their tech-addicted friends. It's possible that forbidding the phone is a parenting easy out. It could take more time and effort to raise children who can resist the siren call of facebook updates.
We shouldn't confuse nostalgia for strong values. There has to be a balance between standing up for what we believe in as parents and giving children an experience that's consistent with the century that they were born in.
Internet access in any form factor can be a gateway to all of the world's knowledge, but the majority of people don't use 4G connections for high minded purposes. I personally have a hard time coming up with a case where an internet connected cell phone is absolutely necessary for anything. In my experience I've usually been able to wait until I get home (with the exception of looking up lost directions).
All of that being said, I don't think cellphones will bring about the end of childhood. "If everybody else is doing it..." isn't the worst argument when it comes to teenaged children, especially for larger values of "everyone else". If cellphones are truly harmful to child development then we're all screwed anyway. The overwhelming majority of teenagers have phones now... what's the point of one person teaching their kids how to communicate the old fashioned way if everybody else in the world is glued to a small screen?
Like everything else that children will be exposed to, cellphones are a matter of self control. It seems like it would be better to have long two way conversations with children about how to socialize properly and how they can be better than their tech-addicted friends. It's possible that forbidding the phone is a parenting easy out. It could take more time and effort to raise children who can resist the siren call of facebook updates.
We shouldn't confuse nostalgia for strong values. There has to be a balance between standing up for what we believe in as parents and giving children an experience that's consistent with the century that they were born in.