Should teens get their own cell phone?

teens shuold have a cell phone...a prepaid one. their for they abnuse it they lose it. their parents should give them so many minutes (you dont need alot to check in at home) and if they abuse it they lose it simple as that.

 

If your thinking of getting a cell for a teen, then i would look into the companys that offer unlimited minutes, but are only for local use only, and usually don't have long distances. The company in my area that offeres a service like that is called Cricket wireless. they just charges 40.00/mth. If there is not a carrier like that in your area, then prepaid would be the way to go. Nothing would be worse then giving you teen a phone with 300 minutes and they use 3000 minutes!!

 

Realistically, prepaid is kinda silly if you want your teens to have a phone for the purpose of checking in/for emergency unless you actually believe that they're going to ONLY use it like that.

Giving a teen an emergency phone is for the parents piece of mind, not the teen's. Realistically, the best bet is to go with Cingular/T-mobile, start on a HIGH plan, and work your way down because with those companies you can do so without penalty.

Alternatively, if the teen has their own income in some form, make a deal with them. Tell them you'll pay a certain amount every month, and they have to pay the rest. They can either do this in the form of a higher plan (so every month they have to pay a little) or by picking the plan you're willing to pay for, meaning they have to limit their use and risk paying large overage fees. I've seen this work for a lot of parents and the kids were a bit smart about it because it's their own money.

The big mistake is to get a kid a cellphone and try to save money by going on a low plan ($30 or less/month). This CONSISTENTLY costs more than going on a higher plan because the teen, to a certain extent, is going to go over their available minutes.

Putting a teen on prepaid is a mistake. As stated, the teen carrying the phone is for the parent's piece of mind, not the kids. That means that whenever they burn out their minutes, the parent is going to want to get them another card, and that's just too expensive. With Cingular, on a $30 card you get 85 peak minutes or 300 off peak minutes (mix and match, so if you use 75% of one, you have 25% of the other, etc.), whereas a $30 plan gets you at least 250 peak and 1000 off-peak. Most kids are going to burn through a $30 card in less than a week, and the parent is going to be buying the new cards.

P

 

If a teen wants a phone then it should be up to them to pay for it.

Why should a parent be expected to foot the bill so a teen can yack with their friends on a cell phone?

 

A teen should foot the bill unless the bill is higher because parents are using the minutes to call their teen often. In that case, parents shoudl subsidize the phone (NOT pay for the whole thing). I have paid my own cell phone bill in total since I was 17 (a year and a half). Before then, I had no job so I split it with my parents.

 

First off, I wouldn't characterize talking to their friends while crossing the street and showing it to people an abuse of the privilege. But anyway, I don't see how teens supposedly need so many minutes, even if they are planning on talking to their friends. A 300 minute plan would be more than enough. I agree that a prepaid plan wouldn't work, and neither would a family plan, IMO. They'd probably use all the minutes and leave none for the parents! As far as going over their minutes...well if they do, they should make up the difference. I also agree that the parents shouldn't pay for the whole thing. At least make them pay half the monthly bill, and unless they want the free/cheap default phone with their plan, make them pay for the phone if they want a more expensive model.

 

I am fifteen I have had my cell for about 2 years now. My parents can keep in touch with me whenever they like, no matter where I am. If I need a ride, its a phone call away, if I need a cab its a phone call away. Forget about me... My brother has a cell and hes 12! my parents are happy with us having it and using it. When I was away for the summer, it made sense for me to have it.

I go to a private school in NY, consisting of 180 kids next year going to have 250... about 150 out of 180 of the kids have cell phones... Most of us have high end cells... My bro and I just got the Samsung S105's today... cool phone... you should consider getting it...


I go over my plan often... but my parents dont really mind as long as I dont call overseas or anything... I suggest cells for teens... safety and leisure.. not always a bad thing.. we are just as human as the next person.

visit www.newsbyteens.com tell your teens about it (I am the founder of the site)

 

No.

And I say this as a former teacher and journalist. Consider the number of schools in the USA, divide by Columbine, and you'll get the odds, roughly, of your child EVER needing to contact you. And in an extreme case like that (a wealthy school beseiged by gunfire) a cell phone would be meaningless.

Face the facts: Teens use cell phones for what we suspect -- to gab with their friends. Lots of adults do this too, and many of them are the "parental examples" that cause problems in the first place.

Thumbs down...

P.S. -- Even if the teens pay for it, parents should make the final decision. Some kids are gregarious money-earners. Nonetheless, if my child has the bucks to buy a car but isn't ready, it's his or her tough luck.

 

Its not necessarily bad to talk with their friends, just as long as they don't do it 24/7. A cell phone can have many purposes; emergencies are one, leisure is another.

 

I don't see any problem with teens having a phone. You could always go with a phone that can restrict what numbers can be called out or received. Just program in all the local emergency numbers, the schools, the family numbers or whoever else you will let them talk to.

 

It's a good way for parents and kids to stay in touch.

 

Family plans: When I was selling phones, I told people- someone always goes over minutes and it's never the same person that opens the bill.

Paying for a cell phone for a kid is like paying for a magazine subscription. Christ, when I was like 16 or so, when they were what you got, my parents got me a pager for Christmas with a year on it. Now, it shouldn't be a societal expectation for parents to buy their kids a phone and pay for it, but it's not something horribly bad for them to shell out a few bux a month for something for their kids. I mean, with the stuff parents RANDOMLY buy their kids (not birthday, not christmas) just because they're their kids, it's not that bad a thing.

Short on time, just printed out copies of resume and have to get cleaned up to drop 'em off!

P

 

I must respectfully disagree that a Columbine-level emergency is the only time a kid would NEED to call his parents. When I got my phone, I think 70% of my calls were to/from my parents, albeit usually not emergency situations. Sometimes you need to tell mom when to pick you up or that you're staying after shcool. Also, they cut down on home phone bills since you can call friends at night without paying a per-minute charge to the friend that may live 3 towns away. I say cell phones are good for teens as long as they're not used during the school day (except for emergencies).

 

I think every teen should have a cell phone in case of emergency. it is a dangerous world out there. If the kid is not responsible with it, then have it locked so he or she can only call people on the speed dial list (program your home, parents work and parents cell numebrs in as well as any nearby relatives or a neighbor you trust) and have the caller id blocked so when they call out the number will not show up (so they can't call and see what the number is and pass it out to all of their friends). If the kid is paying for it themselves either through a job or by working around the house or is responsible enough that they will not abuse it then you can do without the keypad lock. Pre-paid is a bad idea for teens. Once they burn up the minutes talking about Jeff's new car or Suzie's new shoes and mom and dad need to get in touch with them, there are no minutes left for the call to go through. These are just my thoughts and opinion.

 

I'd probably subsidise a cell phone for my kid once he or she was old enough to need it. If you're in elementary school you do NOT need a cell phone. If you're in middle school you probably don't need one. I'd find a plan with mobile-to-mobile though, and make it clear that if the phone goes over my subsidy, the kid is responsible for it. If the kid doesn't pay, I will, but then the phone is mine.

I had a pager in high school, back when only 'drug dealers' carried pagers. I got it after my friends and I disappeared to Maryland one night (from NJ) and got back at 7am.

 

I see this question has been posted over several different forums by the same individual.
I am starting to wonder if this posters parents told him/her no and they need to prove a point.

Upon reading this post, it wasnt hard to tell that it had come from a teenager. IMHO, teenagers should be restricted to pre-paid. On average. the numbers for teenagers who abuse their phones against the ones that dont are quite large.
Parents always want to "think" that the phone will only be used in emergency situations; it isnt unil after they recieve that first bill that they realize their little Billy or cute Sally has a LOT of friends.

To say that a teenager should pay their own bill is a bit crazy; if their parents want to provide them with a phone, then that said parent should pay the bill.

Comparing emergency needs to that of Columbine is not in the realm of things. Who would have been thinking about making a phone call when mad chaos such as this was taking place?

 

Teens should have a cell phone if and only if they can pay the bill. The best thing for them is to sign up for Virgin Mobile prepaid so they get the lowest rates and can't ever go over more than they can afford. If you get them a billed plan, then they may over do it and can't pay for it, leaving you with the bill. If you teen was out of minutes and an emergency happened, they couldn't call you, but they could dial 911. All cell phones, activated or not are required to dial out emergency. (Only if they were activated at some point in time). Therefore it could still be used as an emergency phone.

 

I think a good idea is to give them a prepaid phone and teach them to be responsible with it. Let's remember that humanity has been able to survive without cellphones so it is not the end of the world if they run out of minutes. Parents can give them a prepaid quota, say every two weeks. If they use all their minutes before the next minute recharge date comes then they have to wait before using their phones again. This will teach them to use their phone responsibly since they will know that they won't get anymore minutes until the next period comes. Since they won't want to have their phone inactive for days, they will learn to save and manage their minutes to keep the phone active at all times and parents won't have to worry about an inactive phone. This is the same idea behind the weekly allowance many parents give their kids. They learn to spend money responsibly and to save for desired purchases because the allowance is controlled by the parents. If they get a phone with a monthly rate plan then they know they can talk everything they want since there's no control and parents will have to pay the bill anyway. Now, for those who can pay their own bill then a monthly plan won't be a bad idea as long as they are responsible for the bill.

 

matt8205

Of all the posts in this thread, I find yours the most disturbing. First, you state your private opinion as if it is a professional opinion just because you were a teacher once. (What does being a journalist have to do with this subject?)

You also make sweeping generalizations about teens and cellular useage, something a true professional analyst would never do.

As a parent of two very responsible daughters, I bought them both cell phones when they were in their late teens. They both worked after-school jobs that got them home in the evening. As far as who the children talk to, that is not the concern of educators. The only valid concern of educators is not who a child talks to but WHEN. I would readily agree that talking during class in the normal process of a day would be inconsiderate just as talking on them in other public places is inconsiderate.

I wholeheartedly disagree with your viewpoint.

kevin

 

My 2 cents...

My 9 year old daughter came home recently asking for a cellphone. One of her friends at school recently got one. She figure since her friend "and lots of other kids are getting one" that she should have a cellphone

Our response, NO! First of all the only time she is way from us is while she is at school, or when she's riding the bus to/from school. When would she NEED to use one? Now if she was 16, driving her car without us and away from us for long periods of time, I would say "yes". 9 is definatley too young.

 

There are responsible children and irresponsible ones, just like adults. My daughter is in middle school and has a phone which she does not abuse. We resisted getting her one based on her argument that "only losers didn't have one" until it became a necessary communication tool for the family. She plays sports and frequently needs to reach us to be picked up when practice ends early/late bus not available for another 45 minutes or for pick up when the team returns home from a game. Sometimes games are rescheduled or moved to a different school, and she needs to call to alert us so we don't end up driving all over Long Island. School phones are always out of service! She has started going to the movies on weekends, and for security reasons we feel the phone to be a wise investment. Of course she talks to her friends, but never in school, and she never goes over the agreed upon "minutes". If she ever does, she can pay for the extra charges with her money. Every parent knows their own child and what their maturity level is. My elementary school child does not have a phone because he doesn't need one; he is never in a situation where a responsible adult is not with him. When he has a reason to have one, he will get one. And if you abuse it; you lose it. The children who abuse it will most likely abuse everything; it was probably too much work for their parents to set boundaries when they were young. Or the parents indulge them too much out of guilt or laziness. Be responsible or suffer the consequences of your own behavior!

 

Teens should not have a regular cell phone. Keep in mind its the parents resposiblity to pick up the tab for any minor. If they are 18..then let them get whatever they want IN THERE NAME.
However there are alternatives. one being prepaid (the expensive option),
Sprints "ClearPay" program (onces the bill hits 125.00 its off untill a payment is made...this can also be voluntarly setup upon request and isn't limited to people with credit issues.
And my favorite for the teens is Cricket Wireless. http://www.cricketcommunications.com/default.asp and metropcs. www.metropcs.com or anyt other carrier of that type....which are great for teens.

jayjay

 

A friend of mine let her teen get a cell phone. The teen used it to dialup to the internet. Then my friend recieved the $600 bill. With that said, don't trust your teen, put restrictions on the phone if possible, or go with prepaid.

 

Well, if the teen was surfing the internet through a wireless phone, my hat is off to that person. They know a lot more than many adults that post here.

Seriously, one experience does not speak for all people. Hysteria is built on such exaggerated presumptions. There is little difference between your argument and that of those who argue teenagers shouldn't drive a car because they are too immature and too driven by hormones.

Yes, teens are immature--they have only lived less than 2 decades. But that doesn't mean they are incapable of using good judgement. Yes, teens, by definition, are going through puberty and are driven by hormones. That also doesn't mean that they can't exercise self control. Many successfully navigate their teen years and become responsible adults. Think back on your life--are over 19? If so and you are still alive and didn't kill or maime anyone during those years, then why do argue against them now? Caring concern and honest firm love from parents and other caring adults is what helps teens. Making sweeping remarks about them only angers and discourages them. Would you try to do right if all you ever got was condemnation?

 

"Don't Trust you teen"!?!?!?!?!?? STOP STEREOTYPING TEENS, EVERYONE. That is ONE TEEN, ONE PERSON. My parents pay for my cell, which ive had for over a year, I started with a 100minutes/month and I was always around 80-90 usage. I am now on a shared plan (300minutes) w/ my mom, who uses about 20/month. My usage is around 200. How can you say dont trust YOUR teen? The parent should know if the teen is responsible or not. Parents dont listen to anyone on this board, including me, just ask yourself, "Can I trust my teen" and "Is this something I can afford and that you want your kid to have." People are social, we are humans, we like to be connected 24/7. It's the new "us." technology continouly evolves, people get use to it.

 

Your "Columbine equation" and stereotypes of teens distrubs me, especially coming from a former teacher. I hope that you are not ignorant to the fact that there can be other situations besides school shootings where a teen may need to get into contact with a parent. Can you also explain to me why you think a cell phone would be meaningless in the rare instance that a shooting may occur in a teen's school, such as Columbine? Even though rare, I think a means to contant police and loved ones would prove very useful.

Also please don't preceed your opinion with a statment like "Face the facts". Not all teens use cell phones to "gab" with their friends. I have known many teens who understood that cell phones can become expensive when over used, and use their phones sparingly, usually to get into touch with parents. I am a 19 year old college student and have had a cell phone since I was 16. It really wasn't a big deal when I asked my parents if I could get one, I did the research and understood what I could afford and then went out and bought one. It was actually my first encounter with a monthly bill and entering into a contract (even though my mother actually had to sign the contract), which taught me a lot about responsibility and manging my money. I have stayed with the same company for the past three years and never used thousands of peak minutes nor did I turn into a drug dealer or become cool to my friends. I have simply had a useful piece of techonolgy that was not available to previous generations of teenagers.

When it comes down to the inital question of whether teens should have cell phones, I say sure. If they are able to afford a phone, I think its a worth while investment when compared to some of the other things teens could be spending their money on. The only time I feel a parent should step in is if they believe they have a child that is too irresponsible to manage having a cell phone. If this is the case then I think the parent has greater problems to deal with than issues concerning cell phones. As a teenager, I view cell phones as an affordable convience that can prove useful in emergencies. I am also greatful that this technology was available to me at such a young age. I find it pretty amazing that with the amount of money a teen can make at a summer job, they can purchase a piece of technology that allows them to talk to practiaclly anyone from anywhere in the country.

With that being said, let your teens have cell phones if they so desire. In most cases it will simply make your teen's life more convienent.

 

I am a teen. I have a cell phone. I'm on a family share plan with 800 minutes, BUT i am actually saving money. At my school to call home it costs me 2$ for a 45 second call (overpriced pay phones in the school) soo this means if i dont get the person i was looking for then ha ha, looks like i get to blow another 2$. assuming i did this about 10 times a week (no joke, i saty after a lot) then this is 20$ a week. Well okay at 80$ a month jsut for pay phone. From there i have several friends whoare long dist for me, well call this 10-15$ a month. so 90-95$ a month for me. now with wireless i need 80$ a month for like 900 mins i think, unlimted night and weekend, anddddd free long dist and junk. Basicaly ill never go over the rate limit, 99% of my clls are either to my mom or at night. Teens shold have cell phones

 

Here's my take on it.
I agree, that kids who can't drive don't need a cell phone in most cases. I also agree that while some teens will be irresponsible, others will use their phone appropriately. Even some adults find themselves recieving suprisingly giant bills(such as my brother did one night when he called his girlfriend while drunk and forgot to hang up the call and was presented with a $900 bill). If a kid is in high school and is busy, then perhaps they should have one. If a kid is driving, I can definitely see the benefits of them having one. I'll be 22 on the 16th, and I only just got a cell phone last April. I was getting by fine without one and I don't use it a whole lot. When i was in highschool and my friends an I all worked varying schedules at out jobs,I had a pager for a while so they could let me know what was going on that evening if i happened to be at work. If I was a parent(something I can't even fathom at this point in my life ) then I'd want my older teen(say 15 or 16) to have one. As far as what plan to have or to have prepaid or postpaid, you've got me.

 

I am 23 now, got my cell when i was 21. My parents got my sister a cell when she left for college at 17 to keep in touch with her while she was away at school. My 16 and 15 year old cousins got phones from there parents. In all cases the person with the phone was responcible for paying the bill and in all cases but mine the parents got the bill. In this day and age I think a cell phone makes a wonderfull "leash" for teenagers if that is how you choose to think of it.

The right thing to do no mater what the situation is is for both the parent and the child to REALY discuss (no dictating parents ) the why's, why not's, hows, and in and outs of getting a cell phone. Having a teen have a cell phone CAN WORK. Its up to the parent and the teen to MAKE IT WORK.

my $0.02