Mobile phones – they’re everywhere. They have taken over our
lives, creating social barriers (ask any waitress how many customers they
witness sitting opposite each other on their devices) and causing havoc and
heartache on the roads.
Unfortunately, there’s no escaping them and hopefully our
future generations are educated, like the P addiction which has many in its
ghastly grip, on the perils of these devices for they too can be an ominous
addiction.
Since starting intermediate, my oldest has been asking for a
phone for his birthday. Apparently he is the only one in his vast group of
mates without one. At first I was aghast. But after reading an article on
mobile phone protocols for youngsters, followed by an incident last week where
I was stuck in traffic and 20 minutes late for picking up the boys from cricket
practise, I had a re-think.
This morning, Master 11 unwrapped a mobile phone for his
birthday.
Of course he was rapt. I had had a tutu over the weekend,
loading my contact, along with a silly photo, before realising it would pop up
on his phone every time I rang and it’s respect I’d most-likely be after – not
a piss-take. So I replaced it with a more appropriate one and sent him a
birthday message to find. I also phoned myself from his phone and loaded his
contact, along with a photo into mine. It was strange to see his name on my
phone, especially when he didn’t know yet!
I was having fun but decided to wrap it up before I
personalised his phone with an embarrassing ring tone and screen saver. During
the half-hour before he caught his bus this morning, my phone was going a
little crazy with messages from family members for him. So I sent the callers
his new number so they could call him direct, and mentioned he was off to catch
the bus in five minutes (so they might not get much response from him in front
of his friends).
He didn’t recognise his phone subsequently ringing from his
pocket and missed them all. But he must’ve got it sorted on the bus for several
minutes later my brother text: “He’s not so chatty when with his mates!! 😉”
I well-remember getting my first ‘brick’ for my 21st
birthday. I was home for holidays and opened my present in my room, then
thought I’d be funny and ring my mum in the kitchen on the landline to order
breakfast in bed. My brick didn’t fit in my pocket so I carried it round the
gym with me later that day. Of course I didn’t really need it and I didn’t
receive a single call. Not many people had mobile phones back then so I thought
I was pretty cool.
In hindsight I wasn’t cool at all and my birthday boy’s
phone is a lot flasher and has access to a whole range of things, half of which
I am, no doubt oblivious to. Therefore, as I explained to him this morning, it
comes with a lot of rules: 1. He conducts chores to pay the $5 a week top-up,
2. No social media until he is around 15, 3. It is to be left on the bench at
night and 4. If I suspect he is on websites that I wouldn’t approve of, I am
allowed to do a random check of his phone. Privacy of his phone will come later
but he is still of an age where supervision is needed while able to access the
internet.
Oh and 5. Respectful texts to your mother. I already
received one from the bus on his way into school updating me on how many new
contacts he had installed since leaving home 15 minutes earlier.
I turned a blind eye to the lack of grammar and asked if he
had loaded his uncle’s contact and why wasn’t he very chatty?
“I couldn’t really hear him,” came the reply. “But I did
hear him singing Happy Birthday”.
Ah yes, I can imagine the shame in that. Looks like he’s
discovered the volume button then.
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