Alrighty, a debate! 

Chatterbox: Down to Earth

Alrighty, a debate! 

Alrighty, a debate!  Thank you Admins!  This is a debate on the usage of cellphones.

Cell phones are expensive and a large responsibility, and I don’t believe that young children should own them.  First (I’ve mentioned this a couple times) children under the age of 13 (well, maybe 12) don’t go places without an adult or guardian or someone to supervise them.  The supervisor is responsible for the child, and so having a cell phone is frivolous at that age, because it is simply to fit in, because they won’t need a cell phone for emergencies if someone is watching over them!  Second, when you start using a cell phone at a young age, you lose social skills.  I’ve known a couple cases where the child (or now older teen) is awful at talking on the phone, or keeping up a conversation because of texting.  Even if you are old enough to own a cell phone, texting is a lame excuse for “talking” to someone.   It also ruins your spelling, because most kids use “txt talk” ( as we’ve seen even here, on the CB.)  (Oh and I’m not saying this for any of you CBers.  This is just in general.  You all might be a totally different case, it’s just this is what I’ve seen around here.)  It drives me INSANE when I text an entire long thing and only get an “oh” or “haha” as a reply.  It not only is annoying, it kind of hurts, because it shows that I’m trying hard to keep in touch and talk to these people (in the way that they like= texting) and it seems like they don’t even care!  Yes, I have a phone, but my parents didn't want me to get one until I was driving.  But they decided I needed one because I've been doing alot without them.  Basically, I have mine for safety reasons, but I do like having it, because EVERYONE has one in today's world.  Ugh.

 

I have more to say but I must go to bed now.  So, what are your opinions?  I’m not mad at all if you are younger and have a phone, in fact, I don’t really care. :) It’s just, how do you behave with your phone?  What do you use it for?  Do you think, even though you have one, that it’s pointless, or annoying at times?  Do you find the way others use their phones is terrible? (for example: sending bad messages/pictures, spreading rumors, the way they text like I mentioned above, etc).  Debate! 

 

Robyn~D~

 

submitted by R~D~, age 14, WA
(January 19, 2011 - 12:56 am)

back to the Down to Earth
So I have an iPhone 4. Previously I had some phone that was ridiculously bulky so it maintained a permanent residence on my bedside table. The iPhone, on the other hand, is small enough to fit easily into a pocket and also functions as an iPod/portable Internet module/pocket solitaire/etc., so I am actually carrying a cellphone this year. It's rather different.
Now. On to the debate part of things.
First, and something that bugged me whilst reading previous comments: Cell phones. Do not. Give you cancer. Or ARS, or any other number of diseases caused by radiation. (probably). Bear with me for a moment. There are two major categories of radiation: ionizing and non-ionizing. Ionizing radiation is the kind most people think of when they hear the word "radiation"; it includes x-rays, gamma rays,  is extremely penetrating, and can physically damage human DNA. It has enough energy to remove electrons from atoms (creating ions).  Ionizing radiation is the sort used in medical processes like x-rays and radiation therapy. Non-ionizing radiation creates heat, and on the high end of the scale (infrareds, basically) it can excite electrons. Microwaves and radiowaves and visible light are all examples of non-ionizing radiation. Most importantly, there is a very good chance that non-ionizing radiation cannot cause cancer. It does not damage DNA. VISIBLE LIGHT is non-ionizing radiation. Theoretically it might cause problems with constant, prolongued exposure (i.e., weekly, two-hour-long trips to the tanning bed and/or beach).
Cell-phones emit non-ionizing radiation. That's why they can get warm sometimes with prolongued use (the same is true of computers). Presumably the people who appear to have them glued to their ears could have issues from the constant exposure to even the low levels of non-ionizing radiation, but the average cell phone user won't. 
Second, texting. Specifically, the effects of texting on social competence.
I have Asperger's. It's a fairly minor type of autism. It causes me to have trouble talking to people, especially if I make eye contact (making eye contact in general is awful for me, actually. I have trouble doing it for more than about two seconds, and even that makes me nervous). I especially have problems with telephones-- I don't know why, but I prefer to talk to people face-to-shoulder. I had a bloody panic attack just thinking about having a phone conversation with someone once ((never have panic attacks. They are the worst thing ever)). 
So if I absolutely must communicate with someone and they are not readily available for conversation, I (a) text or (b) Facebook message or (c) email them, depending upon the length of the message I need to convey and whether they check their Facebooks or emails more often. I text, Facebook, and email the same way I write on the CB. Occassionally when using Facebook chat, I will forego capital letters if I'm really in a hurry to say whatever I'm trying to say.
Besides which, I'm far more articulate in writing than I am in speech (largely because I get HIDEOUSLY NERVOUS when speaking to someone and that makes my vocabulary fly out the window). 
...I don't think I'm using it as a crutch, is what I'm trying to say. In this day and age, texting is an integral part of society-- the colleges I apply for text me, for goodness sake-- and unlike ten years ago it is a social norm. So prefering to text does not put me at a disadvantage, socially speaking, to someone who prefers to call (the fact that I have other socialization problems, unrelated to my preference for texting, does put me at a disadvantage particularly given the career I hope to pursue, but that is another matter entirely).
Third, texting and its effects on driving.
I do not text and drive. Not only is it now illegal, but it's worse than drinking and driving (which I also do not do. I don't drink at all, for the record. I had a sip of wine once, because mom made me. It was icky) in terms of risk of accident and such. Nor do I let my mother text and drive while I am in the car, because it makes me nervous. She uses both hands.
Texting and driving is stupid in general, as is doing anything whilst driving other than, well, driving. The end.
Fourth, cell phones for the safety and protection of minors in emergency situations.
I remember one time I was left in front of the middle school until 5:30, when my parents realized neither of them had picked me up (mom thought dad had, dad thought mom had). Fortunately it was around 45 degrees, and not terribly windy, so that was okay. Still. The situation would have been averted completely had I had a (functioning) cell phone (I did have a cell phone, but it was a crappy LG phone that had a battery life of about two hours and had this weird issue with not being able to make calls 90% of the time. It lived in a drawer). I was... 12? at the time.
Not to mention all the middle school swim meets I went to, only to have no way of calling the parents to say "We're passing through Boulder, we'll be there in thirty minutes." and then having to wait for the twenty minutes it took mom to (speed) from our house to the school to pick me up. In the freezing cold December evening air.
So a working cell phone would have been handy during my 11/12/13/14 years (after I turned 15, my friend Alison got her license and could give me rides everywhere, so it wasn't as much of an issue). Also I got my second phone, which actually worked on the rare occassion I remembered (read: mom ordered me) to take it with me from the house. (this is why she got me an iPhone: it made it convenient for me to carry a phone, because it was only a little thicker than my iPod touch, AND it has 3G capability so I can get on the Internet in school) ((also, for the record, the iPod touch is now my backup iPod in case I'm on a road trip [read: sleeping in the backseat, not driving] and the iPhone dies [iPhones have shorter battery lives on account of the whole phone thing, natch]. I don't use them interchangeably, because the iPhone is, simply, better.))
Fifth, texting in the company of others.
Alison and I think it's great fun to attempt to keep as many conversations going, about different topics, via as many different medias as possible, at once. Our record is four (sitting in her room, chatting about Discworld, whilst texting about worship team/youth group times, emailing about drama, and whingeing about school over Facebook). [[also Admin it IS whingeing, not whining, I've had the terms get switched in comments on here before, presumably because it was assumed to be a typo. It isn't.]] Other than that, I don't text people when I'm speaking to someone (whether it is the same person or a different one) because it's rude (unless mother texts me, she gets irate when I don't respond. EVEN IN SCHOOL, when I am not allowed to text, which I HAVE explained to her multiple times, to no avail. Grr].
Bottom line, it is rude. I hate it when people do it.
Sixth, @Silverwing re: five-year-olds with iPhones: Don't worry, the parents will rethink their $500 investments (+monthly plans, which aren't exactly cheap either) when their dear ickle five year olds spill grape juice or drop or lose those iPhones. Probably. If not, pity the child. They will end up sad, lonely little narcissists.
submitted by TNO, age 17, Deep Space
(February 15, 2011 - 10:33 pm)

TNO, you are definitely old enough to have an iPhone. :)  You make some really good points.  Hahahaha, I love what you said about texting your mom during school.  Funny stuff. =)  But, I still believe cell phones cause some sort of problems, whether it be cancer or a headache.  I don't know-- it's better to be safe than sorry.

submitted by R~D~
(February 18, 2011 - 2:21 pm)
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