Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
ADULT VIEWS ON MOBILE
PHONES AND CHILDREN
phone users in deprived areas of the UK, it was
claimed that as many as 12% of those surveyed
had had a mobile phone stolen; a rather more
representative MORI poll in 2001 of 5000 13-16
year olds reported that less than 5% had had a
phone stolen (Harrington & Mayhew, 2001). It
is easy to see why some people may see mobile
phone theft as a greater problem than it might
really be.
Many parents feel 'comfortable' know-
ing their child can call them easily if they are
needed (but this is only the case if the child has
a) credit, b) the appropriate number stored, and
c) battery). This always connected behaviour has
some tensions in addition to the obvious flaws in
the overall assumption. There is clearly a very
fine line between being in touch with a child and
the child being surveilled. There seems to be a
dangerous trend towards 'tracking' children that
is not borne of any real sense but comes from
a misunderstanding of the risks associated with
life (Furedi, 2001, Rayner, 1999). Aitken, (2001)
reports the almost constant parental surveillance
of children even up to their early teenage years
while they are out. With modern phones now
having GPS and way-finding services, together
with the rather more sinister ability of parents
to 'track' their children, some commentators,
in particular Williams, Jones, Fleuriot, & Wood
(2005), have identified a concern for children's
general understanding of the spaces and places
they inhabit in an electronically mapped out world
An alternative (and in my own mind, a much
healthier) view is to see the phone as providing
freedom for, and giving control to, the child.
Fotel & Thomsen (2004) discuss the role of
mobile phones in facilitating the discussions
between parents and children about where, and
how far, the child can go. During a workshop on
this topic, the authors established that in most
cases children were only allowed 'freedom' if
they had their mobile phones on them.
As alluded to in the earlier sections of this article,
there is a general ongoing debate about the suit-
ability of mobile phones for all young users and
this is especially true for children. Individuals
tend to polarize on one of the two sides of the
debate. Many adults are unhappy for their chil-
dren to have phones at too early an age fearing
that the child will lose the phone, be bullied for
it, that it will be too expensive, or that it is simply
a technological evil. Others take the view that
the phone is a necessity for their children, seeing
the phone as a security feature and an always on
connection and wanting their children to benefit
from the technology of the moment.
Both of these views have support and opposi-
tion in the research press. The general idea that
children cannot be trusted, that they will lose,
sell, break, abuse, or otherwise misuse mobile
technology was considered in a recent study in
which 216 mobile devices were given out to a
range of participants in a learning project. De-
spite over 55% of the participants being under
19, and with 35 of them being homeless, this
group of users showed great sense in using the
technology and, contrary to the views of the
adults overseeing the project, and their rather
glum predictions, only 6 of the 216 devices got
stolen (less than 3%) and only one was damaged.
In addition, in this study, only one participant had
to be told off for incorrect use of the technology
(Attewell, 2004), It is worth noting that, at the
outset of the project reported in this article, the
researchers took a sensible line of explaining
the technologies, agreeing a 'contract' and then
trusting (but also in part monitoring0 use.
Mobile phone theft is difficult to measure
and quantify as it relies on self report, on thefts
being reported and on honesty in reporting theft
(which may be confused with loss or sale). In
one survey of 15,000 11-16 year old mobile
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