Why it’s bad for school kids to own mobile phones

Editor,This is a great opinion, but I’m afraid to say that it’s one-sided. I don’t deny the benefits of early access of children to mobile technology, but there are more serious and genuine concerns of security.Once there is a setup of a controlled environment, this will be great, but to date it is not. Obviously you’re still very young and you might probably not have kids – at least not in the teenage yet. Please take time and have a look at our teenagers’ contacts in the phones and their friends on Facebook, that’s when you will understand how prone they are to sugar daddies, sugar mummies and many other ill-intended people. Or walk in your teenager’s bedroom at 3 am to find her chatting on Facebook or WhatsApp Messenger while she has class at 7 am – not to mention open access to Internet – then you might get a second thought about giving her a phone.Technology, particularly the Internet is a ”double-edged sword”. I think there should be specific classes tailored for mobile technologies, but believe me, you wouldn’t want to throw your daughter in that jungle before she is ready for it. Thank you.James, Kigali, RwandaReaction to Alline Akintore’s opinion, “Need for open phone policy in public schools”, (The New Times, June 11)

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Why it’s bad for school kids to own mobile phones