If you are anything like me, you get a little nervous or anxious when you walk out of the house and forget your cell phone. I find it comforting to be digitally connected.
I don’t even have internet on my phone; I can’t imagine how I would be phone dependent if I did. I just like knowing I can be reached or reach someone else no matter where I go. If I go out of range of my cell, I am not happy about it.
Knowing this, am I really surprised that my teenage son feels the same way? He wants to be reachable 24/7. He takes his phone everywhere. They allow cell phones at school here as long as kids don’t use them during classes while work is being done.
Between that and his computer at home and video games, it’s a miracle if he sees sunshine on the weekends.
I was wondering how healthy this is? To be so connected all the time. I read a news article, about kids hesitating on going to summer camp because they can’t take their cell phones. That seems like a real shame to me. It also makes me happy that my eleven year old doesn’t have a phone yet. The more we give kids technology, the less they want to play. One article pointed out that parents get nervous too when they can’t contact their kids whenever they like. They also said it would be good for any age to unplug for a while and have some fun.
The thing is, how can I tell my children about disconnecting and just being unfettered from electronics and cell phones when I stay glued to my laptop and my cell? What kind of example am I setting?
After considering this problem, I’ve decided to make a point this summer to get outdoors more with my kids without any devices. I want to just use my phone as a means of communication when I really need it and not as a permanent appendage. I plan on setting a great example for my children for at least the summer months and giving technology a bit of a break.
I browsed around on Amazon and I found this book about cell phones impact on our society. You should check it out. 
What about you? Do you want to join my summer challenge? Will you take some of your free time and just spend it without being tuned in all the time. Let me know how you feel about this.
Written on May 20th, 2009 at 7:40 pm by Amy
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