This summer, I have been working in a fitness gym called Lifetime Fitness. Within the gym is a kids summer camp for ages 4-12 where members of the gym (and non-members) can leave their kids between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. My assigned group is the six- to eight-year-old girls. Because they are young girls growing into beautiful young ladies, I always talk to them about life and they are always asking me questions.
The other day while we were eating lunch, I was receiving messages on my phone from my aunt. When I pulled out my phone to check my messages they all started to talk about cellphones: what kind they have, when they got their first phone. All of this at only six, seven and eight years old. I could not believe what I was hearing. Girls that are seven and eight years old with an iPhone 5c, iPads and iPods. When I told them that I did not get my first phone until I was 12, they were in so much shock. They could not believe their ears. And when I explained that my first phone was not an iPhone they looked like they almost felt sorry for the younger me. One girl asked, "So you had a flip phone?" I almost laughed at the look of disgust on her face that I possibly had a flip phone when I was younger. I told them before I had a cell phone, I was required to use the house phone. Sometimes I would also make calls and send texts off my mom's phone, but for the most part I played with toys and would go over my friends' homes to play.
I find it funny how dependent the kids at my job are on their electronics at such a young age. My parents are always saying my generation is on our phones too much and we need to set them down and enjoy life. I, for one, know that I can. My phone is not my lifeline, but since I have one I am going to use it. For 12 years, I did not even have a phone and I kept in touch with my friends just fine, and I always stayed entertained. I feel like this next generation is much worse. One of my girls was telling me how much she missed her iPad while she was at camp, and how she could not wait to go home and use it. A lot of the kids throughout camp complain because they can not bring electronics into camp and have to leave them at home. Although I do use my phone quite often and I am always texting someone or looking at social media, my phone does not hold me captive. There are times now where sometimes I set my phone down for hours at a time while I am preoccupied with something else.
Honestly, I think giving kids phones opens them up to a world far beyond their age. Although times are changing and now they need to be aware of a little more than a 6-8 year old should, they can learn about things from their parents and other trusted adults. Not the pictures, tweets, and posts of complete strangers. In a way, they miss out on a piece of innocence that comes with childhood where the world does not really make sense, but they do not have to figure it out just yet. Most times I wonder what they even do with these smart phones, Apple watches, and other smart gadgets we now have. Before I was 12, I never even really begged for a cellphone because I had no reason for one until all my friends started to get one. My first phone also was not a smart phone. I do not think smart phones were really a "thing" until some years later, when I got my first Galaxy. Because my parents waited so long to get me a phone, I feel I can cope better without one. The only way not having a phone gets in the way is when I have to keep in contact with family while I am away at school, or to keep up with updates and announcements for the different clubs and organizations that I am in.
Kids having these different electronics at such a young age can also be a good thing. Their minds are challenged at a young age, making them more ready to take on the new changes in the world. Plus, they are up to speed with all the fast-paced lifestyles people can choose to have now. Kids come into the world now instantly knowing how to navigate on different electronics before they even know how to talk. Their minds stay busy, active, and stimulated giving them advanced skills while they are young. Being so caught up in electronics can also keep a child from being physically active. There are so many overweight and unhealthy children because they are not forced to go outside and play, or be involved in any physical activity at all. Why should they? They have everything they need in one device through different applications.
At the age of twelve I remember having a cell phone being so important to me, and now I am thankful to have one, but with everything that is happening now sometimes I just have to step away from mine and enjoy life. I always tell my girls at camp to keep an open mind and to stop trying to rush time. Time is precious, and while they think they are ready to have jobs, drive, and be grown, they are going to miss those days where they never had a cell phone to begin with.
