16:02 Gulf News: Mobile phones help keep children away from danger.
16:04 Vaishnav Rajkumar: Yes, for sure. A mobile phone in today’s world is more of a necessity than a luxury. It helps the child stay reassured at all times and they get the feeling that their parents are just one call away.
16:06 Disha Bobby: Children should have mobile phones as a means of communicating with parents. Emergencies also warrant mobile phones for children in case they need assistance. When children have mobile phones, they feel safer. They can teach your child about responsibility — from taking care of the gadget to the call minutes and text restrictions.
16:09 Shivshankar K.T.: My daughter, who is now in grade eight, was asking me for a mobile phone for a year and I bought her a smart phone which is not very expensive. I decided to buy her one only because it is convenient to keep in touch when she goes out with her friends. But even after getting a phone, she was not happy as she was expecting a better phone.
16:09 Saba Ahsan: Well, I think 90 per cent of children don’t use or own phones to feel safe. They just want to be in touch with friends. I cannot recall a single child using mobile phones for keeping in touch with their parents. I think if the children don’t know the right way to use technology or if they are of an age where they are more prone to misusing it, mobile phones can play the worst role. I think all of us here are thinking from a parent’s perspective, but think about it from a child’s perspective — how do they take owning a phone? I think early knowledge of certain things can prove very harmful for children, so we should be very careful.
16:14 Gulf News: They help children build interpersonal skills and encourage independence.
16:16 Shivshankar K.T.: They will feel independent to a certain extent as everything is on the tip of their fingers. Technology has improved so much that they can get all the information that is required. It also helps them build interpersonal skills as it helps them communicate at the right time. Mobile phones play a vital role in maintaining contact and is necessary for any coordination, either for school activities or other events.
16:18 Disha Bobby: Children should have mobile phones, but they should be monitored on how and when they can use them. Children can learn to communicate with others through mobile phones - it might bring them out of their shell.
16:18 Aisha Naseem: While mobile phones encourage independence, there is a chance of addiction to the device itself. Why is it that more people find it difficult to put their phone down? I’m not sure how phones might help in developing interpersonal skills, but they help immensely in passing time on long journeys, with multiple apps to help mind development.
16:18 Huda Al Baqali: I agree with the statement because parents themselves say that children should be independent. Why not start encouraging them from a younger age?
16:18 Vaishnav Rajkumar: With all the social networking sites downloadable on your mobile phone, a click of a button is all you need to get yourself heard. You are able to get in touch with your friends 24X7 through these platforms. So you are never out of sync. What more do you need to boost interpersonal skills? I would suggest mobile phones for children from the age of eight. Also, I feel that with the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other facilities available on mobile phones, it always gives a sense of security.
16:21 Aisha Naseem: I think there are quite a few people who start chatting with one another just because of the device they have. It is a good conversation starter but it is difficult to ascertain or quantify the level to which interpersonal skills are developed.
16:22 Badr Al Hammadi: I disagree that mobile phones build interpersonal skills and encourage independence because when a child starts to use a phone, the first thing he does is go to the gaming sections. I do believe that the child’s ability for face-to-face communication will deteriorate. I notice that children are really strong in their opinions while they are on the phone, but when it comes to face-to-face meetings, they become shy!
16:25 Huda Al Baqali: Texting actually helps the child improve language skills because you have to type the words correctly for the other person to understand.
16:25 Saba Ahsan: Well, how fast you can write a text message won’t help anybody get a job or earn a living and even if they don’t go straight to the gaming section, it in no way improves their interpersonal skills.
16:25 Disha Bobby: Many children cannot speak face-to-face with people. Mobile phones and social networking gives them a platform to voice their opinions. In that context, texting helps a lot.
16:26 Sumera Malik: Yes, they should be allowed to own mobile phones. It is an easy way to communicate if children are in trouble or they need help. Secondly, children will learn a lot about devices and how they operate.
16:37 Gulf News: Schools can get involved and teach responsible and considerate use at a young age.
16:38 Vaishna Rajkumar: Schools can play an important role in educating children on the use of mobile phones because phones cannot be done away with altogether. So, prudent use of the phones in the way it was designed to be used and in the way that is in the interest of the children needs to be taught at school.
16:39 Saba Ahsan: Yes, schools can do this. In fact, schools can also guide parents very well on how they must encourage positive use of phones.
16:39 Shivshankar K.T.: Definitely schools can teach children how to use mobile phones responsibly. It is easy to make them understand when they are young and they should have an idea of the pros and cons of owning a mobile phone at an early stage of their lives. First of all, they should understand that this small device is for communicating and nowadays it can also be used to gather information. The school has a responsibility to make them understand the primary use of a mobile phone. They also should be warned about how they can waste a lot of time by going to various social sites or by getting addicted to games that they can download or already exist in the device.
16:39 Disha Bobby: I believe that trusting students to have a mobile phone in class instils a level of respect that they pass on to teachers. Students should be allowed to bring their own devices and enjoy that freedom, while also being able to focus on their learning. Bringing their own device will encourage them and show a level of respect that they appreciate, and in return, they’ll pay more attention to the teachers and become better students because they give back the respect they earn.
16:39 Aisha Naseem: If and when schools take such a step, it only means that institutions accept that mobile phones have become a part and parcel of our daily lives. I believe there are schools, even nurseries, that use iPads to teach concepts. It would probably be a whole new subject, but it would be a wise step. This is something which can be taught at home and reinforced at school. I believe educating parents should also be a part of the learning experience.
16:39 Badr Al Hamadi: I don’t think it is possible. It will take some of the teachers’ time. I can’t let a school teach my younger brother about using a phone if it wastes their time. How, then, would they teach him other subjects that are a greater priority? I believe that it is the parents’ role. This education will come from the home, not the school.
16:43 Gulf News: Mobile phones are open to abuse.
16:44 Shivshankar K.T.: Out of all the advantages, the misuse of mobile phones is really a concern. Mobile phones are open to abuse for various reasons and children should be monitored on how they are using the device and for what reason. Even getting addicted to games can spoil a child’s eyesight. Children can access unwanted sites and their activity on different social networks is also a major concern. Above all, children talk over the phone for long periods of time without realising that they are losing constructive time and by the time they realise the damage it has caused, it will be beyond repair.
16:46 Vaishnav Rajkumar: Again these issues are not a valid reason to curb the right to own a mobile phone. These are behavioural issues and the phone is just a trigger. If not phones, the same behaviour could be displayed through other mediums.
16:47 Aisha Naseem: I feel there is a level of trust that exists based on which freedom is given. Mobile phones are a part of that ‘freedom package’. You trust the person is not going to abuse the device and use it to the best possible advantage. There have been problems in the past, which need to be looked at in isolation. Because bad people are out there, not giving your child a phone isn’t justified. One must weigh the pros and cons, more keeping in mind the age of the person.
16:47 Huda Al Baqali: Inappropriate content is originally blocked by the authorities. If, by chance, the problem gets severe the parents can place a child lock. But at the same time we children want our privacy — we want to own something that nobody pokes their nose into.
16:47 Badr Al Hammadi: The concern of abuse is a valid one. If I want to give my little brother a mobile phone, he wouldn’t accept a regular phone, he would want a smartphone. I believe that he will waste a lot of time playing or texting. In addition, he wouldn’t go to pray on time, which is important as we are Muslims. Plus, he will not be able to complete his home work and will not speak with us as much as he does now.
16:48 Huda Al Baqali: Yes, mobile phones are open to abuse, but only if the child has not learnt about the rules and regulations of the online world. Rules like: do not give out personal information or your physical address. In such a case it will obviously be abused. But if children are properly taught how to use the internet, then there is no need to worry.
— Compiled by Huda Tabrez/Community Web Editor