Can You Hear Me Now?—

Kids Are Answering The Siren Call Of Cell Phones

By Nancy K. Crevier

The marketers want you to believe that if you are young and without a cell phone, you may as well paint a big red “L” for “Loser” on your forehead.

Advertisements are slick, big name bands and popular actors promote cell phone companies and carriers, and ads feature chic, beautiful people interacting in chic, beautiful places. Just how young of an audience are cell phone companies hoping to attract, though, and at what age are parents willing to equip youngsters with the latest rage in technology?

Five years ago, a student at Newtown High School with a cell phone would have been the most popular kid on campus. Nonchalantly pulling a cell phone out of the back pack to call home for a ride would have been the ultimate in hipness, and would have set off a chain reaction of envious glances. But not anymore.

Park outside the entrance to the school at the day’s end, and it is obvious that cell phones are as plentiful as pencils at this institution. Students pull cell phones from pockets or dig them out of purses, backpacks, and sports bags as soon as they exit the building. They talk while they walk and they carry on conversations as the buses pull away — whether their buddy is on the bus with them or not. Text messaging takes the place of idle chat for some and phones with photographic capabilities lend themselves to fun, on-the-spot photo sessions.

“It’s really a part of our culture,” says Newtown High School Interim Principal Patrica Llodra. “It might be seen as a status symbol, more so among our younger students, but now they [cell phones] are so common. Parents like their kids to have cell phones in case of schedule changes, to check in with them.”

She estimates more tham 75 percent of the Newtown High School population now has a cell phone. While there is a policy at the high school that forbids the use or wearing of electronic devices such as cell phones and beepers, Mrs Llodra confesses that it is a policy that is difficult to enforce, because the cell phone has become such an integral part of lives.

However, she says, “Most students are very respectful of our cell phone usage expectations. It is very rare that a student would violate policy.”

Overseeing a student population in the 14 to 18 year old age range, this principal also believes it would be unrealistic to ban cells.

“We are dealing with young adults. [To ban cell phones] communicates ‘We can’t trust you,’ which is not the attitude at Newtown High School. There is a mutual respect here.” She goes on to explain, “Our attitude is to be respectful of an evolving culture and to find a way to manage the changes young adults today are dealing with.”

Steve and Sue Small got phones for their college age daughter and son, who is a junior at Newtown High School, last year.

“Eddie was always having to borrow someone else’s [phone], then we would try to call back and not know who we were calling. The whole family has a plan now,” says Mrs Small. Her son uses the cell phone mainly to make plans, she says, not so much for chatting.

“They’re here to stay,” she says, echoing the sentiments of Mrs Llodra.

According to the student handbook at Newtown Middle School, says Principal Diane Sherlock, middle schoolers are allowed to bring cell phones to school, but the phones must remain in the backpacks or in lockers during the school day.

She points out, though, “Kids don’t need them during the day. All of the offices allow the students to use phones, even after school. We also have pay phones in the middle school.”

A large number of the population at this grade level have cell phones, she ventures to guess.

Linda Dale Mulholland, a teacher at Newtown Middle School, is in agreement.

“Most have cell phones or have access to a family phone,” she says. “Once in the school, though, they go into the lockers. If they are seen used in school, or go off during class, it is turned in and parents are called to come pick it up.” That happens maybe once or twice a year. It is definitely not a chronic, abused policy say Mrs Sherlock and Ms Mulholland.

It is not a big deal to have a cell phone for this age group, says Ms Mulholland.

“Just like with every other new piece of technology, they take it for what it is. This is what this generation is used to. They might get excited about new colors or a new feature.”

Even so, sales to parents of middle school-age children have been steadily increasing, says Susan Goldberg, the owner of Radio Shack at Sand Hill Plaza in Newtown. A lot of the phone sales are for children around 10 or 11 years old.

“Their friends have phones, so they want phones,” she states. For children involved in after-school activities, the phones are an ideal solution for parents who do not have time to wait around hoping the activity ends on time.

What she suggests to parents of these younger cell phone users is that they buy a prepaid phone.

“There’s no contract, and no monthly charge. You buy the phone, buy the minutes, then come in and re-up the minutes as they are used.”

A prepaid phone costs between $50 and $90 at Radio Shack. Cards of minutes start at $20 for 45 minutes.

Some families prefer to put their child on a family plan and give them a “real” phone, says Ms Goldberg. “I think it’s easier to get the prepaid.”

Trevor Todd’s camera phone is still a novelty to him, says his mother, Gretchen Todd. Her son, a seventh grader at Newtown Middle School, realizes the phone is a tool, and not for social purposes.

The Todds live near the center of town, and Trevor often walks to the library, Edmond Town Hall Theatre, or home from school.

She expects her son to respect the school policy toward cell phones, and in order to get and keep the phone, she requires Trevor to keep up his grades.

 “I like knowing where I can reach him,” says Mrs Todd. “Before, he was borrowing friends’ phones. I didn’t think I would be so enthusiastic, but I love it.”

At Reed Intermediate School, Principal Donna Denniston is aware of many fifth and sixth graders who have access to cell phones.

“At the end of the day, kids go other places. Parents rely on them [cell phones] to keep in touch,” says Mrs Denniston.

Students at the intermediate school are allowed to have the phones, turned off, in their lockers, but may not bring them out until school is dismissed.

“We do not want them to have phones out,” she emphasizes, adding that it has not been an issue.

Local elementary schools find cell phones to be a nonissue, for the most part. At all of the Newtown elementary schools it is rare to see a child with a cell phone. The schools do not have an official policy concerning mobile phones, as they have not been a disruption or distraction at the present time.

St Rose School on Church Hill Road does not allow students to bring cell phones to school, even if they are kept in backpacks.

Resisting The Trend

Laura Helmig has two children, Elizabeth, 9 years old, and Quinn, 6. She admits that she is a bit old-fashioned when it comes to technology.

“We don’t even watch much TV,” she confesses. She and her husband, Tim Helmig, are not opposed to cell phones, though. Both of them carry cell phones, for emergencies and for work.

She sees no reason, though, why either one of her children would need to call her.

“I don’t have them in a position where they would be alone or not with an adult,” she says. “We’re not really in a place yet where I’ve considered a cell phone for the kids.”

Jill LeBlanc agrees. Her oldest son, Kevin, is “dying for a cell phone,” at age 10.

“He sees advertising, and sees older kids with the phones. It’s a gadget to him,” says his mother. “He has no need for a cell phone now.”

Her younger children, Brian, 9, Timmy, 6, and Megan, 3, will play “pretend” with toy cell phones, but have no interest in electronic technology.

Like the Helmigs, Mrs LeBlanc and her husband foresee cell phones as inevitable down the line.

“Probably he will need one as a teenager; it would depend on the situation.”

Marketing To Kids

Firefly Mobile Phone Company would like to see that situation come sooner rather than later. Their brightly colored product is geared toward children as young as 8 years old. The phone is sized to fit tiny hands, and colorful accessories including a wristlet purse, glow-in-the-dark shell, and a hands-free headset appeal to today’s fashion conscious “tweenager.” Five flickering function keys connect kids to numbers keyed in by parents, keeping them safe and keeping parents in control.

Presently, Firefly mobile phones are available only in Mid-Atlantic states and some southern states, but the company hopes to go nationwide in May.

Another mobile phone company that takes aim at the younger generation is Boost Mobile. A telecommunications division of Nextel, Boost focuses on developing communication products for the youth market. Their pay-as-you-go wireless phone has huge appeal to the urban, hip-hop demographic. QuikSilver, Roxy, and And 1 products, favored by a large segment of the youth population, are partnered with Boost, and nationwide surf, snowboard, skateboard, and BMX events are sponsored by Boost. Subscribers are able to renew airtime minutes by purchasing Re-Boost cards, available at teen friendly stores like Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy.

Christian Qualey of Phone Forum on South Main Street in Newtown says these types of cell phones appeal to young people who may not have a lot of cash on hand. There is no monthly charge, nor is a large security deposit required.

Parents who come into his store are buying mostly for high school age and older, but there are some who add younger children to their plans.

“They [the parents] want to make sure their kids are safe,” he guesses as to why middle-school age and younger children are the recipients of cell phones.

The sense of security and convenience cell phones offer to parents and their youngsters may come at a cost that is more than financial, though.

The Subtle Costs              Of Technology

Kathy Grose, administrator of Housatonic Valley Waldorf School in Dodgingtown, says cell phones take a child away from who they are and how they live.

“A cell phone is one more reason to pull out of themselves,” she says. “We used to connect with people. People are removed from the current moment, we get further away from who we are.”

Cell phones are not allowed at the school, which educates children preschool through eighth grade. For the most part, she believes, children who attend Waldorf do not own cell phones.

As part of their education process, Waldorf School discourages technology. Television, video games, and DVDs are not encouraged at this developmental stage of learning, nor are computers. Up until January of their eighth grade year, students hand-write all reports and draw their own illustrations.

“Machines make life abstract and take away from the here and now,” says this educator. “Kids need to be in touch with people.”

Developmental growth aside, health concerns about the safety of cell phones for young children have been raised. With innovative technology, though, a certain amount of uneasiness always accompanies the entry into the mainstream market.

Radio, television, telephones, microwaves, computers, and all manner of electronic gear have endured witch hunts in the early days of production. As the popularity of these earlier electronics increased, alarmists raised fears of rampant blindness, insanity, infertility, and cancer in users, fears which ultimately proved unfounded. Now, it appears, the safety of cell phones, particularly for youth, will have to undergo the test of time.

Some of the most unsettling alarms about cell phone use by kids have been sounded abroad.

The National Radiation Protection Board, a British research group, has advised parents not to give cell phones to children under the age of 8. Scientists there say potential long-term health risks remain unclear, but electromagnetic radiation given off by the phones may damage DNA and cause benign brain tumors.

Electromagnetic fields are invisible electrical and magnetic forces that radiate from anything operating on an electrical current. The antenna of a digital cell phone is contained in the body of the newer models, held directly against the head; 70 to 80 percent of the energy emitted by the antenna enters the head.

Particularly for children younger than 10, The Spanish Neuro Diagnostic Research Institute says that calls lasting even two minutes can open “blood-brain barriers,” allowing toxins in the blood to cross to brain cells. Cell phone usage can disrupt the natural electrical activity of a child’s brain for up to an hour, cause lack of concentration and remembering, and cause changes in mood and behavior, according to the 2001 study.

Studies by Sweden’s Lund University Hospital corroborate the SNDRI studies. Doctors and scientists fear the disruption of brain activity will lead to learning inabilities and aggressive behavior.

When does a child need a cell phone? The choice to equip a youngster with one is a personal one. Every family will view the media pressures, peer pressures, and potential health hazards differently. For the present time, Newtown parents appear to be bucking the trend of “the earlier, the better,” and allowing common sense to guide their cellular needs.