CONCERN #4: IT’S AN EMOTIONAL DANGER
In addition to the physical dangers that can come with a cell phone, there are other potential risks. The news headlines abound with stories of kids inadvertently entering into relationships with predators via text messages. Just last week, it was reported that a teacher at a Connecticut school was arrested for “allegedly sending inappropriate text messages” to a 14-year-old student whom he met with late at night. There’s also the issues of sexting and bullying. Parents who may be vigilant about their child’s use of the Internet can fail to realize that their cell phones can similarly pose the same hazards. As reported by CNN, a 13-year-old Florida girl named Hope Witsell who sent a photograph of her breasts to a boy she liked at school. When the photo was circulated, Hope was bullied throughout the school year. Summer break provided a respite, but when school started again, the bullying resumed, and Hope hanged herself. Sexting, which can have varied and awful repercussions, is more common than parents might think. “As many as one in five teens have sent sexually suggestive photos of themselves to someone else, and a third have received such images, according to a study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy,” reports GreatSchools.org. Parents clearly need to stay as vigilant with regards to their kids’ cell phones as they do to their Internet use, and keep open an honest and candid dialogue with their children as to the many risks associated with both. Discuss your family’s plan options with your phone carrier; texts can be limited, and images can be blocked. Surprisingly, forking over for your kids’ phone bills can make a difference. GreatSchools reports that 17% of kids who paid their own phone bills “had sent nude or semi-nude images, compared to 3% of those who had a parent or someone else pay for all or part of their bills.”
