Should there be age limits on smartphones?

[Samalan]

Just picking up on people saying an 18+ age limit because anyone under that age doesn't "need" a smartphone. Neither does anyone above the age of 18. Here is a scenario.

Loads of people, including relatives, have Facebook. You can only access Facebook on a smartphone if you use it on your phone. You are out of credit etc. The only way of contacting them is using Facebook. Without a smartphone, you couldn't do it.

They don't even need to be using Facebook, if they have it downloaded on their phone, they will still get a notification for the message, assuming they have it on. Plus you can get internet anywhere. This has happened to me before and the solution worked.

Facebook is an example. You can use many apps these days to contact other people over the internet which without, we probably would have a lot more problems.

 

[The Governor]

Just picking up on people saying an 18+ age limit because anyone under that age doesn't "need" a smartphone. Neither does anyone above the age of 18. Here is a scenario.

Loads of people, including relatives, have Facebook. You can only access Facebook on a smartphone if you use it on your phone. You are out of credit etc. The only way of contacting them is using Facebook. Without a smartphone, you couldn't do it.

They don't even need to be using Facebook, if they have it downloaded on their phone, they will still get a notification for the message, assuming they have it on. Plus you can get internet anywhere. This has happened to me before and the solution worked.

Facebook is an example. You can use many apps these days to contact other people over the internet which without, we probably would have a lot more problems.

The problem with what you're saying is that some people actually do need smart phones for work (IE something comes up and they can get on the internet via their phone and check into it). It doesn't matter if adults have smart phones - they're adults who can make that decision, who will be paying the bill. Kids and teenagers do not need a smart phone for any reason what so ever. The only things they'd do with them? Text friends and text during school hours and send selfies between each other.

 

[froggyboy604]

I read an article about Mobile gaming causing 1 in 5 South Korean students being addicted to playing mobile games where it is causing health problems.

"The South Korean government has deemed the use of smartphones an epidemic, with one in five students qualifying as "addicted" for using their phones seven or more hours a day. Even if we don't know the full effects, it certainly could be causing health issues. Whether expanding a government-mandated curfew will help, we'll see."

Source :: http://www.popsci.com/article/technolog ... ing-curfew

I think it is best to give a kid a smartphone when they have more responsible with how much time they are gaming since they may end up using their smartphones for 7+ hours a day to play games like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Plants vs Zombies when they should be sleeping, studying, or doing housework.

 

[Beverly]

I did just fine growing up without a smart phone, however there were times when I really needed to contact my mom and any type of cell phone would have been useful for that. Some phones are designed to just provide basic voice service, so that might be an option for a younger child/preteen who has not yet learned social etiquette for using a phone and it would likely prevent many of the scenarios mentioned here as texting on those phones is not available.

 

[Gamer Outpost]

At the very least there should be a ban the use of smartphones by children of a certain age when in school. Some middle/junior high schools allow the use of phones in class, I mean you've got to be kidding me. I can see if they give the students tablets or laptops for school use, but letting them use their own smartphones (which can do pretty much anything nowadays), is stupid imo.

 

[froggyboy604]

At the very least there should be a ban the use of smartphones by children of a certain age when in school. Some middle/junior high schools allow the use of phones in class, I mean you've got to be kidding me. I can see if they give the students tablets or laptops for school use, but letting them use their own smartphones (which can do pretty much anything nowadays), is stupid imo.

I agree there should be a ban of smartphone when in class when students should be taking notes, or at least listening to lectures. I read a blog post that the latest Snapchat update which added text chat, and video calls made students in a class not pay attention, and a girl crawl under a table, so they can use the new Snapchat features.

Snapped: Yesterday's Snapchat Update Made High School Teens Hide Under Tables and Disrupt Class

Today was the first day in a long time I actually took phones away. I have no idea what all was included in the update, but you would have thought it was crack. They seriously could not keep away from it. I even had one girl crawl under the table with her phone.

http://www.complexmag.ca/tech/2014/05/s ... date-class

It is sad that the students in class are so easily distracted by an App update that it caused their phones to be confiscated, and a girl crawled under a table to use her phone.

 

[The Governor]

At the very least there should be a ban the use of smartphones by children of a certain age when in school. Some middle/junior high schools allow the use of phones in class, I mean you've got to be kidding me. I can see if they give the students tablets or laptops for school use, but letting them use their own smartphones (which can do pretty much anything nowadays), is stupid imo.

I agree there should be a ban of smartphone when in class when students should be taking notes, or at least listening to lectures. I read a blog post that the latest Snapchat update which added text chat, and video calls made students in a class not pay attention, and a girl crawl under a table, so they can use the new Snapchat features.

There is a ban of any sort of cellphone when in class. The problem is that kids never listen, and just ignore the rules. I sat in a couple times when I originally was in school to be a teacher, and it was so infuriating to see all the kids with their phones trying to sneak text.

I'm sure it has gotten much worse since then.

 

[Venom]

At the very least there should be a ban the use of smartphones by children of a certain age when in school. Some middle/junior high schools allow the use of phones in class, I mean you've got to be kidding me. I can see if they give the students tablets or laptops for school use, but letting them use their own smartphones (which can do pretty much anything nowadays), is stupid imo.

I agree there should be a ban of smartphone when in class when students should be taking notes, or at least listening to lectures. I read a blog post that the latest Snapchat update which added text chat, and video calls made students in a class not pay attention, and a girl crawl under a table, so they can use the new Snapchat features.

There is a ban of any sort of cellphone when in class. The problem is that kids never listen, and just ignore the rules. I sat in a couple times when I originally was in school to be a teacher, and it was so infuriating to see all the kids with their phones trying to sneak text.

I'm sure it has gotten much worse since then.

Just line the walls of the classroom with material that blocks phone signals lol.

 

[froggyboy604]

At the very least there should be a ban the use of smartphones by children of a certain age when in school. Some middle/junior high schools allow the use of phones in class, I mean you've got to be kidding me. I can see if they give the students tablets or laptops for school use, but letting them use their own smartphones (which can do pretty much anything nowadays), is stupid imo.

I agree there should be a ban of smartphone when in class when students should be taking notes, or at least listening to lectures. I read a blog post that the latest Snapchat update which added text chat, and video calls made students in a class not pay attention, and a girl crawl under a table, so they can use the new Snapchat features.

There is a ban of any sort of cellphone when in class. The problem is that kids never listen, and just ignore the rules. I sat in a couple times when I originally was in school to be a teacher, and it was so infuriating to see all the kids with their phones trying to sneak text.

I'm sure it has gotten much worse since then.

Just line the walls of the classroom with material that blocks phone signals lol.

There are now Apps like Fire Chat, and Walkie Talkie Apps which use a smartphone's Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi wireless signals to chat with other people's phones without any need for Internet connection, and cell service as long as the users are all sitting in the same room.

I think asking kids to put their phone in a non-clear black plastic bag would work better because they would not be able to see the phone's screen.

 

[Venom]

At the very least there should be a ban the use of smartphones by children of a certain age when in school. Some middle/junior high schools allow the use of phones in class, I mean you've got to be kidding me. I can see if they give the students tablets or laptops for school use, but letting them use their own smartphones (which can do pretty much anything nowadays), is stupid imo.

I agree there should be a ban of smartphone when in class when students should be taking notes, or at least listening to lectures. I read a blog post that the latest Snapchat update which added text chat, and video calls made students in a class not pay attention, and a girl crawl under a table, so they can use the new Snapchat features.

There is a ban of any sort of cellphone when in class. The problem is that kids never listen, and just ignore the rules. I sat in a couple times when I originally was in school to be a teacher, and it was so infuriating to see all the kids with their phones trying to sneak text.

I'm sure it has gotten much worse since then.

Just line the walls of the classroom with material that blocks phone signals lol.

There are now Apps like Fire Chat, and Walkie Talkie Apps which use a smartphone's Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi wireless signals to chat with other people's phones without any need for Internet connection, and cell service as long as the users are all sitting in the same room.

I think asking kids to put their phone in a non-clear black plastic bag would work better because they would not be able to see the phone's screen.

Bluetooth Jammer. 😉 That or Just confiscate the phones if they don't put them away.

 

[The Governor]

At the very least there should be a ban the use of smartphones by children of a certain age when in school. Some middle/junior high schools allow the use of phones in class, I mean you've got to be kidding me. I can see if they give the students tablets or laptops for school use, but letting them use their own smartphones (which can do pretty much anything nowadays), is stupid imo.

I agree there should be a ban of smartphone when in class when students should be taking notes, or at least listening to lectures. I read a blog post that the latest Snapchat update which added text chat, and video calls made students in a class not pay attention, and a girl crawl under a table, so they can use the new Snapchat features.

There is a ban of any sort of cellphone when in class. The problem is that kids never listen, and just ignore the rules. I sat in a couple times when I originally was in school to be a teacher, and it was so infuriating to see all the kids with their phones trying to sneak text.

I'm sure it has gotten much worse since then.

Just line the walls of the classroom with material that blocks phone signals lol.

That is actually illegal, unfortunately. I read an article recently about a man who used a cell phone jammer whenever he commuted places. He ended up getting charged for it, which is stupid. It shouldn't be a crime to prevent people from using their cell phones while driving.

 

[froggyboy604]

At the very least there should be a ban the use of smartphones by children of a certain age when in school. Some middle/junior high schools allow the use of phones in class, I mean you've got to be kidding me. I can see if they give the students tablets or laptops for school use, but letting them use their own smartphones (which can do pretty much anything nowadays), is stupid imo.

I agree there should be a ban of smartphone when in class when students should be taking notes, or at least listening to lectures. I read a blog post that the latest Snapchat update which added text chat, and video calls made students in a class not pay attention, and a girl crawl under a table, so they can use the new Snapchat features.

There is a ban of any sort of cellphone when in class. The problem is that kids never listen, and just ignore the rules. I sat in a couple times when I originally was in school to be a teacher, and it was so infuriating to see all the kids with their phones trying to sneak text.

I'm sure it has gotten much worse since then.

Just line the walls of the classroom with material that blocks phone signals lol.

That is actually illegal, unfortunately. I read an article recently about a man who used a cell phone jammer whenever he commuted places. He ended up getting charged for it, which is stupid. It shouldn't be a crime to prevent people from using their cell phones while driving.

I read about this as well. I think it is stupid he is being charged since he is just protecting himself from people who are using their cell phones while driving.

 

[Gamer Outpost]

It makes sense how that would be illegal to carry a cell phone jammer around with you 😛 , but I don't see why you can't build school walls in a way that they block (or significantly weaken) cell phone reception.

Schools should have rules banning cell phones inside the classroom (if not in the school altogether). I can see school-provided tablets or laptops, but you can do a lot with a cell phone and an internet connection nowadays.

 

[The Governor]

It makes sense how that would be illegal to carry a cell phone jammer around with you 😛 , but I don't see why you can't build school walls in a way that they block (or significantly weaken) cell phone reception.

One problem I see is in the event of an emergency and family contacting the teacher (via his/her cell phone).

Schools should have rules banning cell phones inside the classroom (if not in the school altogether). I can see school-provided tablets or laptops, but you can do a lot with a cell phone and an internet connection nowadays.

I don't think you read my post. 😛 Most schools do have rules banning cell phones completely. There may be some that allow them to stay in the student's locker, but most just outright ban them.

 

[Venom]

I still stand by my point cell Phones should not have age limits, however I belive phones should be banned in the class room at school. When I was at school I seen no more than a few incidences of this. It's ultimatly down to how parents raise their kids, maybe becuase they don't know how to or just don't care, they havnt told their kids the right attitude and actions to take.

Now my second point (which is slightly hypocritical yet valid) Is that I can understand why kids do this at lease at the school I was at anyway. The teachers didnt really care about how they do their jobs, which made the lessons incredibly boring and everyone had finished the lesson and the teacher starts checking her hotmail, didnt stay very long at this school I can tell you that. Its teachers like this that contribute to this by not settings an example.

 

[froggyboy604]

It makes sense how that would be illegal to carry a cell phone jammer around with you 😛 , but I don't see why you can't build school walls in a way that they block (or significantly weaken) cell phone reception.

One problem I see is in the event of an emergency and family contacting the teacher (via his/her cell phone).

Schools should have rules banning cell phones inside the classroom (if not in the school altogether). I can see school-provided tablets or laptops, but you can do a lot with a cell phone and an internet connection nowadays.

I don't think you read my post. 😛 Most schools do have rules banning cell phones completely. There may be some that allow them to stay in the student's locker, but most just outright ban them.

I think a lot of class room have regular wired telephones to use to call the principal, school tech support, and make phone calls outside of the school.

I heard on the news that during a major emergency like earth quake, it is best not to use the phone system if you are not hurt to prevent over loading the phone system, 911, and cell phone networks, so people who are hurt can get a faster response to an Ambulance, or Police.

 

[Anuj Dhawan]

To the original thread- I think, age limit won't really help here. For example, there are many online Forums which asks the end user to accept they are more than certain age -- how many do you think, if they've decided to join, say truth and move on? Similar might happen to age-limit-applied-to-smart-phones...I think if one is rather concerned then s/he can have a regular check of phones of the kids...perhaps not a very convenient way (and probably not something we want to listen) but I think that might bring in the "relationship bond" more strong...fwiw.

 

[Allenafaith]

I think there should be age limits. I know some kids are like how I used to be and will get into the wrong things especially apps that kids DON"T need to have that might get them in trouble.

 

[Bossanova]

I think there should be age limits. I know some kids are like how I used to be and will get into the wrong things especially apps that kids DON"T need to have that might get them in trouble.

Aside from that, kids do not need smart phones. Just because they are available now doesn't mean you need them. What kids need is a basic call and text phone, nothing else.

 

[askhint]

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