Mobile Phone and Children

The use of mobile phones has become widespread that we can't imagine a life without them. Mobiles have many good uses and at the same time they can bring disasters especially for children.

Our time is called as the age of communication. Communicating efficiently and quickly is important for a successful life. Mobile phones enable us to talk with people anywhere around the globe, anytime .That way they are good. In emergencies, Mobile phones are extremely useful to call the police or to get an ambulance and to inform the relatives when their presence is needed. Mobile phones help parents to talk with their children studying in far away places .The children feel more secure with a mobile in their pocket as they can always seek the help of others in case of problem. 

But mobile phones have their problems especially in the case of children. Since they can talk privately to individuals, many children especially teenagers use it to make questionable friendships. Mobile phones are expensive. When parents do not give sufficient money to recharge their phones they tend to find money by negative means. Children spend a lot their time talking to their friends. The talk is often nothing very serious or important, telling films stories or commenting about the cricket match they saw, they spend hours forgetting their homework or house hold works.

The mobile phones with cameras have become a big nuisance in some cases. People take pictures of people and morph them and put them in social networking sites, some times to defame them or to blackmail them there are instances where their so called friends have misused their friendships and put the girls to shame. I remember a case in which a girl committed suicide as she was deceived by the boy who became her friend through mobile chats. Listening to music and watching various obscene clips on the mobile have become a pastime among the children of even school going age. Some children use mobile phone while walking on the roads, resulting in accidents. In the examination halls,some students use mobile phones to take answers from their friends outside!

Now the question is weather the mobile phone is good or a bad. The answer is simple. It can be good or bad depending on the way children use them. Parents who provide their children with mobile phone should ensure that they are not misused. 

Salva Shibin. A.

I B. A. FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH