Are Smartphones Bad for Your Kids?

Last week I wrote three stories for Yahoo Tech about kids and mobile phones. One was about the right age to buy a child a smartphone; another was about a mobile device designed for pre-kindergartners; and the third covered tips on how to protect these insanely expensive gizmos before they break.

(Derek Olson/Flickr)

I was pretty sure these posts would get a strong reaction, but I didn’t know how strong. My inbox filled with emails, many of them angry. Some readers thought I was being sexist, while others accused me of endangering children’s health. Some people were mad that I suggested a child should carry a phone of any kind; others wanted to rush out and buy one for their kids.

I got so many emails that I felt compelled to share some of the best ones here.

Hold the phoneNot surprisingly, a handful of readers took exception to my argument that kids should have some kind of wireless communication device, whether it’s smart or not. Becky W., for example, is one of many who are quite emphatically anti-smartphone (capitalization is all hers):

“KIDS! don’t need smartphones. Any one under the age of paying for their own phone only needs a cheap pay-as-you-go phone for emergencies. Parents that spend their hard earned money for these stupid ‘smartphones’ need to grow a pair and just tell their kids NO!”

Surprisingly, some of the readers opposed to giving kids phones are kids themselves. Fourteen-year-old Rosemarie M. lays waste to the theory that all teenagers crave the latest and greatest i-devices. She doesn’t have her own phone and doesn’t see the need for one.

“With Wii’s and Nintendo DSi’s and tablets, is a phone really necessary? Its just like ‘Hey these kids don’t have a smaller screen in front of their faces that could contact people so let’s get our 8 year olds smartphones.’ Don’t parents see the danger of them possessing a phone? Did we all forget about Talking Angela? We found one app that can spy on us, and I’m pretty sure there are many more. I personally will never get my kids phones until they are 17+ (if phones are still a thing).”

First, a quick clarification: The Talking Angela iPhone app does not secretly take photos of kids or steal their personal information — that’sjust a hoax that spread across Facebook about a year ago. Still, that doesn’t mean phone spyware doesn’t exist, or that 8-year-olds should carry iPhones.

Meanwhile, Elisa C. did not weigh in on whether kids should own phones, but asked why I kept referring to children in my post as “her” or “she.”

“I was wondering why you wrote your article with a clear and consistent gender reference calling out girls over and over again? Boys have texting, sexting, overage and utilization issues as much as girls. There is power in the written word and as a writer you have the opportunity to reinforce gender-based stereotypes or to help break through them.”

First, no gender stereotyping was intended. My son is just as addicted to his phone as his younger sister, though a bit clumsier with them (he’s broken three). I used “she” because the plural is incorrect, and “he or she” is awkward. To my mind, using “she” is no more or less sexist than using “he.” 

FiLIP bustersMy post about the FiLIP watch (“A Mobile Phone for 4-Year-Olds. Seriously.”) generated the most responses of any Modern Family story to date. Some readers even seem to think I invented the thing. Sadly, I did not.

(myfilip.com)

To recap, the FiLIP device fits on a small child’s wrist, helps locate your child, and lets you designate up to five numbers that he can call, but it won’t let the kid dial 911.

Several readers suggested that the FiLIP phone sounded like an excellent solution for their elderly relatives, especially those suffering from dementia. I don’t see why not, provided that their arms are thin enough to wear the device (I can only fit three of my fingers into the non-adjustable wristband). However, FiLIP is planning to come out with a larger model later this year.

But not everyone is sold on the idea of outfitting kids or elders with mobile phones of any kind. Ellie M., founder and chair of the California Brain Tumor Association (CABTA), responded to my article about the FiLIP with this:

“Great article. Our government and industry are completely ignoring that wireless radiation is a WHO class 2b human carcinogen. The AAP has spoken out about this along with excellent INDEPENDENT scientists worldwide.

Losing a child in a mall is indeed frightening. Losing them to leukemia or brain cancer is beyond comprehension. Hope this device dies before it kills!”

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has indeed asked the FCC to reconsider its guidelines for how much wireless radiation is safe for kids as well as adults. But according to the National Cancer Institute, there’s no conclusive evidence that cellphone use increases the risk of cancer, though it says more research is needed.

Most of the health concerns revolve around the proximity of the phone’s wireless antenna to the skull. That’s not an issue with the FiLIP, which is worn on the wrist and doesn’t come very close to a child’s head. And have you ever seen a tween or teen use a phone? Ninety percent of the time they’re texting, not talking.

It’s entirely plausible that wireless communications technology will have serious unforeseen health repercussions. So has every other technology we’ve adopted since the discovery of fire. And, as with every new technology, only you can decide whether the benefits are worth the risk for yourself or your kids.

You don’t want your kids to play with fire, but you do want to teach them how to handle it safely. Same goes for tech. 

Repair despairIn an ironic twist, two days after I posted a story about how to protect these wildly expensive gadgets (“Six Things You Need to Do Right Now to Protect Your Kid’s Smartphone”), my 17-year-old son dropped his Samsung Galaxy S4 and smashed the screen.

(Ralph von der Heyden/Flickr)

It was uninsured. (We don’t actually own that phone — it’s a loaner — so we didn’t purchase an extended warranty for it.) And no, he did not have a protective cover on it. His mother had given him an OtterBox case, which he neglected to put on.

We said, “OK, Captain Butterfingers, if you want that smartphone, you’re paying for the repairs.” So we sent him to our local CPR Cell Phone Repair shop, whose CEO, Jeremy Kwaterski, had told me fixing a broken screen would typically cost between $35 and $175.

The estimate for fixing the Galaxy S4? A shocking $299. (We also got an estimate for fixing a Nokia 1020 he had smashed awhile back — $249.) Painful? You bet. But this strongly suggests that if you own an expensive phone, you’ll do better by getting damage insurance from a company like SquareTrade or Protect Your Bubble instead of paying out of pocket for repairs.

Finally, reader Steve F. offers a word of caution to parents whose children bring them broken dumb phones and ask for smartphone replacements.

“I have noticed that [with] my 6th grade daughter (my third of five), who now has email due to online school collaboration, her friends advise each other on how to best break their non-smart phone in hopes of getting upgraded. Sneaky, these kids.”

Sneaky, indeed.