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I  came across this interesting use of mobile phones to track kids in Japan. More on this below but this story prompted me to write about the bigger issue of kids and technology. The amazing pace at which communication technologies have advanced has both positive  and negative aspects. In this post I’ll limit the scope of discussion to this question: What should a parent know about young children’s interactions with mobile phones? 

According to this research 10-12 is the average age at which kids get a mobile phone. Reasons most often mentioned security and peace of mind. Naturally kids like to play with gadgets and they can learn plenty of things even if they just play games. Usually parents will depend on their kids to configure the phone’s different features. But that’s not all - there are many potential hazards as well. In a (relatively) conservative society such as Pakistan, access to a mobile phone (even without network access) can create some difficult situations. Teenagers are early adopters and usually are tech savvy but they are also emotionally immature. An article in the June issue of Flare lists the following dangers when children use mobiles: snatching, scamming, exposure to inappropriate material, (possible) health danger and risk of other criminal activity.

Read the rest of the post at State of Telecom in Pakistan.