Mobile phone usage by youngsters

JUNE 2016 TOPIC: At what age should youngsters be allowed to use a mobile phone and why? Your views.

Kids these days start using mobiles from a younger age. Be it for playing games, listening to music or for social activities. Mobile phones start to influence their everyday life, become a habit and they get addicted. The main purpose of mobiles these days is lost. Being a victim of this addiction myself, I feel youngsters must be given a smartphone only after they complete their higher secondary school. Phones have a major impact on studies and health which cannot be ignored in the growing years. The World Wide Web is a web indeed. Once you get stuck, it is difficult to get out!
Snehal Dhote
BVM, Civil Lines, Nagpur

Youngsters should be allowed to use mobile phones only after Std X. As we know, everything is now technologically advanced and there is an important need for a device which could make life easier for all of us. We get information about everything from class schedules to last minute changes in syllabus only through cell phones.
Charmi Karani (20)
Nagindas Khandwala College, Malad

It is utterly disgraceful to see the way young people are growing. Luxuries at every step are sure to ruin lives. And so is happening to the young ones today. Nearly every new gadget, motorcycles, branded clothes are a style mark; at whatever cost, they want it! According to me, youngsters should be given cell phones when they turn at least 17. Cell phones given at an early age is the best way to spoil a child. It is time we understand that true sanity lies not in over exposing.
Siddharth Gangwal (19)
St Xavier’s College, Jaipur

The best age to have a mobile is when a youngster is 16 years of age. At this age students start going for coaching classes and travel far distances, and tend to make new friends in tuitions and other classes. Being a woman, dangerous crimes also happen at this age and mobile phones need to have the police help emergency apps.
Kryselle Barretto
Our Lady of Rosary High School, Dona Paula, Goa

‘Youngster’ refers to a person who is ‘young’ at his/her age, so accordingly a youngster should not be allowed to have private mobile phones (they are definitely going to use, maybe, the parents’ phones to stay in touch with their mates). But the fact is that youngsters do grow up and their parents are the first and foremost people who see them growing. So it should entirely be their parents’ decision as to when they should be exposed to this life-taker or life-maker (it depends on the person who uses it whether, it is a life-maker or taker).
Ritika Bhatia (19)
Kanodia College, Jaipur

Today’s world has changed… people have advanced. And for the mobile phones, it’s one of the things without which one can’t live. Mobile phones have become a vital need for all. In my opinion, youngsters should be provided with mobiles at the age of 15, when they are mature enough to stop themselves from misusing these gadgets. Children have become lazy, they don’t prefer playing physical games instead they like playing video games which make them dull and dumb. Mobile phones should be used at an appropriate age and for a useful purpose.
Divyakriti Masaun
Jhansi

Mobile phones are a boon as well as a bane. It depends on the way you put it to use. According to me, youngsters aged 12 to 13 must be handed this device. A teenager will very well know the pressure on him for studies as well as other responsibilities. It will come handy in case of any emergency. He will not indulge in addiction to this device. If given earlier than this age, the child would probably use his free time on the phone and eventually get addicted to the device. Even after giving it to a teenager, parents must have a little control in case it turns out to be a problem.
Sakina Dudhwala (17)
Nirmala Niketan College of Home Science, Mumbai

As modern teenagers we have been exposed to all sorts of technologies at a very tender age and this phenomenon seems to be on the rise. Mobile phones are an important means of communication and I feel that it should be made available at the earliest for one’s safety. But it should be under parental control for safety.
Christina Pang
Pratt Memorial School

Cell phones are one of the greatest inventions as it connects individuals. Cell phones have become a very important part of our daily lives. It is very difficult to imagine our lives without the cell phone as most of our work is done using one. I feel cell phones must be given to youngsters after the age of 14. Very young teenagers are roaming with cell phones leading to inevitable addiction which leads to further problems. If cell phones are given at the right age then it is easy for the parents not to worry about their child’s whereabouts. With the number of classes to attend both parents and the child can communicate and stay safe.
Utkarshini Rajput (18)
R.A. Podar College, Mumbai

I feel youngsters should be allowed to use mobile phones after the age of 16. This might sound too much, but today mobiles are part of an individual’s life so much that it is better to have this age limit and have the changing scenario in control. Today, we find teenagers engaging in more of mobile related issues rather than the real life. The fun “meet ups” of groups of friends is now replaced by WhatsApp groups. People have become socially active but emotionally inactive. Over usage of this technology has made the world a smaller place. Not doing anything about it would definitely impact the generations ahead. So letting youngsters use mobile phones at the age of 16 has to be a shared responsibility which would surely be beneficial to all.
Shivangi Desai (19)
Nagindas Khandwala College, Mumbai

Mobile phone should be given to youngsters at the age of maturity when the person is able to deal with the advantages and disadvantages of it. Youngsters are nowadays more in a “technical relationship with mobile phones” rather than in a “social relationship with family and friends”. A balance between both is required. Keeping a balance means avoiding mobile addictions and interacting with family and friends. Age is not the sole factor because it also depends on self-control and for what purpose a cell phone is used.
Lorretta Louis Gonsalves (19)
St Gonsalo Garcia College of Arts & Commerce, Vasai (W), Mumbai

In this tech-savvy world having an updated mobile loaded with all its latest applications has become a status symbol. Youngsters are also fascinated by the virtual world created by mobile phones. But at the same time it is very dangerous to give cell phones to kids at this tender age. It’s their age to run in parks rather than run online on Temple Run. It is the age of physical, mental, social and emotional development. As such a fixed age limit can’t be set for allowing mobile phones. They should only be allowed when the youngsters are mature enough to handle it.
Surbhi Kohli (17)
H.M.V Collegiate Sr Sec. School, Jalandhar

I feel that there is no particular age limit for teenagers to use mobile phones. There are many advantages and disadvantages. It all depends upon how we teens use it. It’s good to use but there should be some parental guidance, too.
Sana Anjum (15)
Pragathi Central School, Hyderabad

Mobile phones have become an extension of our body nowadays. There were days when mobiles were used just to contact people. Whereas now, life seems incomplete without these very much revered non-beings! Age is just a number. Entrusting a youngster with a mobile depends highly upon his/her maturity level. The competition for survival, the compulsion to outdo people, to stand out of the crowd forces youngsters to possess one. Hence it is left up to them to make optimal use of the gadget and not to succumb to the instant gratification it gives.
B. Hemavarshini (16)
Avila Convent M. H. S. School, Coimbatore

This issue never fails to ignite a heated argument among youngsters and their parents. Mobile may be a necessity for an unplugged communication and ensure safety of a person in case of emergency; they become a reason for distraction as well. According to me, there shouldn’t be a fixed age at which youngsters can be allowed to use mobile phones. Rather the basis of this decision making should be the maturity level of the youngster along with the purpose of usage. If parents feel that their son/daughter is mature enough to know the correct and appropriate usage of a mobile phone and is capable of understanding its pros and cons, age should not be a problem. Similarly, if you have a son/daughter who is outside the home for most of the day like tuitions and other activities, carrying a mobile phone to keep in touch and ensure safety is necessary despite the age.
Inayat Budhiraja (17)
Gurgaon