News for the Week of May 1, 2005

From cellphones to blogs to instant-messaging, kid-tech news was all over the map this week. First, a major study in the UK whose findings are just as relevant on this side of the Pond:

Parents Need Some Tech Savvy

Parents need some tech savvy would be the shortest possible way to put what London School of Economics researchers found in their multi-year study, "UK Children Go Online: Emerging Opportunities and Dangers". As CNET put it, "parents who lack Internet skills could be damaging their children's education and job prospects", which is how the BBC led its coverage as well. There were reams of arresting findings in this study (e.g., 46% of UK 9-to-19-year-olds have given out personal info online, 57% have run across online porn, 30% have "made an online acquaintance"), but much of the coverage zoomed in on this one about parents, the first connection we've seen a study make between parental Net literacy and children's futures. Eighteen percent of parents surveyed said "they don't know how to help their children use the Internet safely," study co-author Sonia Livingstone said.

Gadget Theft

MP3 players, cellphones, portable game players, etc. - all these cute little gadgets spell that much more for kids (and parents) to keep track of. They are big temptations for absent minds and sticky fingers of all ages. New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority even held a press conference "to announce that theft of the $99-to-$450 devices is quite literally out of hand," the New York Times and Washington Post reported.

Speaking of Cellphones

CNET refers to teenagers' "penchant for reckless spending," but just maybe the latest cellphone-related challenge to our wallets is more because 1) they love personalizing their gadgets, 2) they're huge music fans, and 2) the ringtones are a great way to combine those and show off how current and cool their music tastes are. Don't you think? Anyway, the CNET story we're referring to, here, may sound familiar: "Wireless operators are fighting a growing backlash from parents angry at the exorbitant ring tone bills their children are racking up". The outrage (against ringtone providers) is probably justified, since they don't make their pricing plans clear - some kids don't realize they're buying subscriptions with monthly payments instead of single ringtones, according to CNET. Cellphone companies have been getting more and more calls from unsatisfied customers, and the good news is they're beginning to take action.

Then There's "Texting"

Phone text messages have a 160-character limit, so - like IM on the computer - they're short, silent, and part of a conversation, not something you leave with someone, as in email. The experience of 15-year-old Shawn - who told TheJournalNet.com in Indiana that he sends around 1,000 text messages a month - helps explain the attraction. And here's a thorough update on texting at NorthJersey.com, including texting clubs such as "the alibi and excuse club" at SMS.ac, "which promises to get users out of any bind. Send a detailed text message to the club and one of its 4,100 members will pose as a friend or a relative and call whoever is your superior - a boss, a teacher, a spouse [a parent?] - with an excuse on why you could not keep an appointment or date." For context, "about 36 million Americans, or about 27% of the 134 million American adults who have cell phones, have sent text messages" and last year "more than half of 13-to-24-year-olds were active text message users" (send more than one text message a month). And the reason given for texting's take-off of late? "American Idol"! Two years ago the TV show allowed viewers to vote for their favorite singers via text message.

Parents, please note: If you're concerned about texting costs and your child is not yet an avid texter (in which case this would be a negotiating tool more than a cost-saving measure, probably), some cellphone companies will turn texting off for specific phones on your plan - be sure to ask about that. When my then-12-year-old got his cellphone, I had Verizon turn texting off, and he never got the taste of it; IM's enough of a digital socializing opportunity for now.