First attempt of the 'bulk' of the essay

Here is what I have written this afternoon as a start to my essay. This isnt the entire bit but where I am currently up to :)

I have been following the guidance of my support assistant, Kevin Adair. He was happy with what I have currently written.

This paper will explore on how the ‘mobile phone generation’ has affected children’s way of living and their relationship with their parents. Understandably this is a very broad subject with entire books and reports written entirely based on this subject, so this paper will focus on x main areas: the change in children’s communication with parents, their independence, safety, bullying under the influence , the difference between male and female children using mobile phones and the way parents use mobile phones.

Changes in children’s communication with parents

Before mobile phones were widely introduced for general public use, there was rarely a convenient way for a child to contact their parents to let them know of any change of arrangement such as asking to be picked up from town at a later time. The child would have had to look for a public telephone, acquire the right amount of change, find a phone box that worked and possibly wait in a queue waiting for their go. Now, children can use their mobile phones to contact parents at any time informing them of changes in arrangements (Devitt, 2008).

Parents would rarely get a chance to ‘socialise’ with their children and mobile phones haven’t changed that fact. Children use mobile phones rarely to communicate with their parents to ‘socialise’, but will mostly communicate for a specific purpose (Devitt, 2008) such as making arrangements when to be collected from town. Though this is the case for the majority of children, interviews carried out by Kerry Devitt, 2008 shows that eight young people preferred to use mobile phones to communicate with their parents about sensitive issues. This has proved that children who possibly lack confidence or who are too shy to talk about a certain issue face to face, can use mobile phones as an alternative communication method.

Devitt’s study showed that older age groups (particularly aged 13 – 14) are to have much more contact with their parents by mobile phones than the younger age groups. This is because teenagers will have a lot more independence from their parents as they will be out with their friends more often and would need to communicate to make arrangements. This also justifies Devitt, 2008’s point that parents were more likely to communicate with their older children as the younger children would be too young to be away from their parents. This has helped for parents, where before mobile phones, would worry where their child was and what they were up to without having any form of communication. Now that parents have a ‘tool’ to keep in contact with their children, they embrace that option to ensure their children are safe.

Understandably, WhatMobile magazine stated that a Virgin Media survey stated that over a third of people who took the survey experienced anxiety when they could not keep in contact with their parents or children. This proves that now that the equipment is there, parents and children are now dependent on them to keep in contact with each other.




Changes in child independence

Children were a lot less independent before mobile phones became a standard part of a child’s life. This is due to once arrangements were made, it was inconvenient to change this. But now children can contact their parents at their convenience, being able to quickly negotiate plans and inform their parents of their whereabouts (Devitt, 2008). This gives children the independence and freedom to make decisions for themselves and to stay out later with friends. They can go further afield to places that their parents might otherwise be concerned about and as children view mobile phones as a ‘lifeline’, they can contact their parents in the event of a problem.

Changes in safety

Before mobile phones, children had no sense of safety when alone from their parents or other responsible adult. Since mobile phones have become standard, children have become a lot more confident in their own safety, stressing that mobile phones could be useful in threatening or potentially harmful situations. (Devitt, 2008). This statement is backed up by a study carried out by the NSRP revealing that 73% of their respondants have used mobile phones to contact friends and family in an emergency (Mobile Manufacturers Forum, 2008). Though mobile phones have increased a child’s sense of security, Devitt’s study showed that from an interview, thirteen young people stated how mobile phones could put more children at risk through potential muggings or bullying but believe that the advantages greatly outweigh the bad. Seven young people from Devitt’s interview felt that children took more risks would be taken such as exploring places their parents would be concerned about and making prank calls on random people making today’s generation of children more confident than children that did not have mobile phones. Mobile phones may give children a ‘false sense of security’ making them feel too safe.

Changes in bullying

Mobile phones have introduced a variety of new methods of bullying, such as text abuse, prank calls and happy slapping. Devitt, 2008 states that two thirds of children had either received unpleasant calls, text messages or been the result of a prank call. This goes back to discussing the safety where some children may feel insecure or unsafe as a result of these bullying methods. It’s always been known that children have always felt the pressure to keep up with the latest fashion (clothes, toys etc), mobile phones have now put a worsening effect on this pressure with some children feeling they have to keep up to date with the latest phone models, features and accessories. Over half the children tested in Devitt’s study feel this pressure. Though children may have the anxiety of the possibilities of bullying, parents do not feel that mobile phones make their children more vulnerable. Devitt 2008’s study states that parents believe that violence and bullying would happen anyway and just see a mobile phone as another ‘weapon’.

More to come

Literature Review

I hope this is the right idea....

Young people use mobile phones as a key tool to keeping in contact with their parents about their location and what they are up to. This allows children to keep parents up to date on what they are currently up to and who they are with, adding more flexibility and independence into their social lives. Devitt’s research stated that though socialising is rarely used within the family, mobile phones have been used to communicate to parents about serious issues, when people may be uncomfortable talking face – to – face (Devitt, 2008). This has been reflected with text services provided for child support services such as the Samaritans or Child Line. Despite being considered a benefit to young children, Devitt’s research revealed that parents were concerned about the chances of theft and mugging though believing it as “just another weapon” for bullying. Green’s report on mobile phones in friendship relations states that mothers have started to use their mobile phones for different purposes as their children grow. A mother is more likely to contact their child than to contact other her social group (Eileen Green, Mobile connections: an exploration of the place of mobile phones in friendship relations). Devitt’s conclusion showed that parents and young people see mobile phones as an essential way of living for the modern world for safety, managing family and social lives.