Like many moms, Lisa Bates had only good intentions when she gave her son, Adam, a cell phone for his fourteenth birthday. “He had been wanting one forever, and he was out with his friends more,” explains the mother of three from Midway, Pennsylvania. She figured that adding an extra $20 line to the family calling plan was an affordable way to keep track of her teen—especially in emergencies. Soon, however, triple-digit bills began rolling in as Adam chatted away day and night. Although he promised to cut back and pay the surcharges, the behavior continued. Lisa and her husband pulled the plug after one month’s tab topped $600. “You’ll thank me for this one day,” she told her son, who responded by hurling his phone and breaking it. Forget the generation gap. What vexes most parents today is trying to bridge the digital divide between them and their tech-savvy offspring. Computers and other electronics have put the world literally at our children’s fingertips. And we, hoping to give our kids an academic edge, keep them safe, keep track of their whereabouts or just keep them quiet, happily indulge them with the latest gear. According to a recent survey by Knowledge Networks/SRI, a media research firm, two thirds of children ages 8 to 17 have a TV, more than a third have a video-game player and 17 percent have a computer. The cutting edge can be a perilous place, however. Children may stumble onto pornographic Web sites or fall prey to sexual predators and cyberbullies who troll chat rooms and instant-messaging sessions. They may use cell phones to snap risqué photos or engage in phone sex. Health hazards abound as well, from eyestrain and “text-message thumb” to short attention spans and obesity. POINTERS FOR PARENTS
Following are a few simple guidelines to help parents navigate today’s electronic arcade: |
