Our world is wireless. You can print from across the room, surf the Net from the backyard or Chick Fil A parking lot *ahem* and text someone across the globe instantly.
My children are growing up in a convenient, instant world.
It’s awesome.
And it’s also scary.
Take a look at these new alarming statistics just released:
71% of teens regard boyfriends/girlfriends spreading rumors about them on cell phones and social networking sites as a serious problem.
1 in 4 teens in a relationship (25%) say they have been called names, harassed, or put down by their partner through cell phones and texting.
68% of teens say boyfriends/girlfriends sharing private or embarrassing pictures/videos on cell phones and computers is a serious problem.
1 in 3 teens (30%) say they are text messaged 10, 20, 30 times an hour by a partner inquiring where they are, what they’re doing, or who they’re with.
82% of parents whose teens were emailed or texted 30 times per hour were unaware this was happening.
(Stats from Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU) studies)
My son is in the 3rd grade. Most of his friends have a cell phone or iTouch (ridiculous if you ask me!) and my 5th grade daughter is way behind the times, too, and I’m going to keep it that way as long as I can.
I don’t have a problem swimming upstream.
But, in reality, at some point, we will have texting teens (at college, of course!).
How do we keep them safe? Technology entraps kids younger and younger. My nearly 4 year old knows what an email is and recognizes the ping of my computer when Maureen Skypes.
How do you handle the wireless age and your children?
P.S. Our TV broke 3 weeks ago. We decided not to replace it. Best decision ever! We still have one we use for Netflix /Wii, but that’s occasional and it’s awesome. </two cents>
