What do you think about kids having technological stuff?

[Law]

I think I got my first cellphone when I was 13. I was on Pay As You Go and paid for all the credit myself.

Did I ever use it? Hardly ever. Most of the time I didn't even need it.


As for the computer, I've had one since I was around 10 years old or so (Actually, probably younger, I remember running Windows 98) but I didn't actually get it in my room until my 15th birthday. From my experiences I don't think children should have access to a computer whenever they want, it can lead to addiction (Either Internet or Gaming).


And sometimes it isn't about maturity, just common sense about when to stop and go outside.


Edit:

Oh, I've also heard a few rumors about cellphones causing brain tumors due to the microwaves they give off affecting brain cells. I'm not sure if there is any evidence of this, but another reason not to give one to a child.

 

[Sinkhead]

I have a mobile now and I barely use it, it's just there for emergencies and contacting my mates when they're not on MSN.

 

[jumpman17]

I didn't get my first cellphone until I was 20 because I just didn't need one.

 

[CockroachMan]

Only reason I see for a kid to have a cell phone is to help their parents to track them..

Well, I had a computer at home since I can remember.. when I was 10 my mom gave me my own PC, of course by that time Internet access was too expensive for us and we didn't had it, so there were no problems like today..
If I had a kid, I would let him have access to this kind of thing, wouldn't be fair to don't let him, the internet has a lot of good stuff! But, I would also keep an eye on what he's doing..

 

[xJonny]

I think sort of -

For cell/mobile phones, it would be unfair to want them to buy you an expensive mobile phone until you're at least in your teens - a pay-as-you-go old phone or a special deal cheap one or one of your parents' old one maybe for emergencies if you're really careful with it i'd say.

Yes to the video games but the ratings are sort of there for a reason - people don't usually care about them but having them is very very sensible. For handheld consoles, I don't think that you should take them everywhere.

With regards to the computer... yes and no. I don't think you should get a separate one if your family already has a computer. I think that if there is a family computer, you could use that but I think there are tons of reasons that they would want you to be restricted to it. If you were a smart kid, you could avoid all the bad things of the internet - I used one from when I was about 7 or 8 and all I did was use BBC and Cartoon Network and I learned very quickly of what things on the internet could be dodgy. Even so it is very easy to do otherwise. Oh, and having internet can be very costly.

 

[GH0ST]

This one was the one i was looking for ...hard to retrieve ...

‘One thing I have learned in a long life: That all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike—and yet, it is the most precious thing we have.’

— Albert Einstein

 

[mthrnite]

"You can't have a cellphone."
-mthr

When you're allowed out without supervision, we'll talk about it.

 

[Mars]

I'm 14 and I rarely use my cellphone. Had my mom not bought it for me, I would've never bought one, as I find it useless.

 

[Flooded]

I never seen the use of a cell phone unless your job requires it. I remember the days when we used beepers.