In the 1980s and 1990s when cell phones first went mainstream, they were mostly used by business people. But it is now common to see teenagers with cell phones, much to the chagrin of school administrators. Teens often like to use their phones for texting, visiting social media websites and taking pictures. But there are also ways that teens can use their phones productively.
Emergencies
Possibly the most convincing reason why teens should have cell phones is in case of an emergency. If your teen has a car problem (like a flat tire), an accident or a situation in which she is stranded, you want her out of that situation as quickly as possible. With a cell phone, your teen can either contact you or the police immediately for assistance.
Educational Aid
The cellphone can act as an educational aid that your teen can use to assist with homework and research for school. They can use the Internet capabilities to look up information quickly. Blackberry phones and iPhones have applications like encyclopedias and math programs (like graphing calculators) to help teens research information and answer common reading, writing and mathematical questions.
There are also now instant text information services, like the one offered by KGB.com, which allow your teen to ask a question related to a homework problem and get an almost-instant response.
Organization
Just like business people, teenagers have hectic schedules that include school, sports, music lessons and other extracurricular activities. Fortunately, cell phones have calendars and alarm clocks that can be used to organize a teenager's life. Teens can use the calendars to set up recurring events, such as clarinet practice every Monday or work every Saturday and Sunday. The calendar can also be used to set up reminders, such as for the dates and times of sports games and notes to remind the teen of class exams five days in advance so he can study. Since a teen will usually keep his cell phone close, it can be used as a reliable alarm clock to assure he makes it to school on time.
Suggestion
If you want your teen to only use the cellphone for these reasons and monitor the use of the phone, there are cell phone plans that allow limited use on one or more lines (like Smart Limits for Wireless--offered by AT&T) and phone monitoring services available through third party companies like Radar (see "Software Lets Parents Monitor Kids' Calls" under "Resources" below).
Tags: your teen, cell phones, cell phone, business people, their phones
