Half of 10 year olds now mobile connected

And they need them why exactly ?

Is it just me or does anyone else think that giving young children mobiles is just plain idiotic ? .

My stepson is 9 in a few weeks and his dad has promised him a mobile . The kid has maybe 5 friends he talks to in school every day . He doesnt go wandering farther than earshot so why the hell does he need a mobile ? . All this rubbish about its for safety what utter tosh he never goes anywhere farther than the damn television .

Things like this make me mad . Its just another excuse for shoddy parenting . And then what do they do . Moan like hell because the kids run up a huge bill downloading crazy frog ringtones . Well you gave em the darn thing you muppets .

duh?

"Purveyors of porn don't generally want under-age customers as they lack money to pay for the content, allaying the concerns of 51 per cent of parents."

This has to be the most ridiculous non-sequiteur I've seen on El Reg for a while.

The only parents whose concerns are allayed by this are fucking stupid ones. Any kid can grab their parent's CC number and look at porn. That's a simple fact of life. The idea that the porn industry doesn't have an *interest* in this happening is either (a) horrendously naive or (b) a complete fucking lie, depending on who's saying it.

Hello?

i'm in Wendy's house! Stealing the DVD Player!

pink floyd

Older than 18 - yes, knowing Pink Floyd albums - no; but try me on Cat Stevens or the Incredible String Band!

Mine's the one with a built-in wind-up gramophone.

If I can't be first, can I be next?

"parents still reckon their kids aren't being protected from inappropriate content."

If it is such a great concern for the parents, why give the kiddies a phone at all? If you must slide over one of the cheap "phone only" units, perhaps with the oh so cool e-ink or e-paper or e-"whatever they call it now". So what if you have to order it directly from the factory, it cost 30 [quid, euros, dollars] so it isn't a big deal if it winds up down the loo and the odds someone will want to steal it drops to nil.

Paris because I needed something to match the title.

My kid

has had a phone since six (soon ten). It makes me worry less and I think it makes life safer for her too.

And yes, "all my friends have better phones than I have" is what I have to try to bear, as expected.

Pink or Pink Floyd?

I'm not sure I could name something by either of them.

Anyway, my sprog got their phones when they got to high school and started doing after school stuff (and they're too young to drive and too far away to walk...really). Pay as you go works just fine...no camera...no whatever....just a simple phone.

*headesk*

If parents are worried about the sort of things their kids might see and hear on a mobile phone, WHY DO THEY LET THEM HAVE ONE?!!

I really wonder if the peace of mind afforded to parents by giving their kids phones (e.g. cancelled club meets etc.) is actually justified? For example, the two children beaten half to death by two other children in Yorkshire recently had their phones stolen by their attackers. In fact, since the attack was motivated by theft, the immediate question anyone might ask was, did having mobile phones actually create the risk?

@trinity

I doubt the actual possession of the phone was the trigger as much as the fact the perpetrators COULD do it (and probably figured they would just get away with it) and certainly didn't care about the consequences of their action on the other kids. Cat-o-nine comes to mind.