So today I encountered a six, maybe seven-year-old girl, with an iPhone 5 ... at the risk of sounding like my Grandparents, 'when I was a youngster' I was happy with a colouring book.
Here's what phone I was sporting at her age:
That's right people, the Playmobil 6GS. With an incredible nine buttons, it was one of the most far forward for its time among the under 8's. You could get coverage anywhere, it came in several colours, and the camera was so complex and high quality, it had to be purchased separately; you were set for your birthday and Christmas present that year.
If I wanted to dial 999 for Fireman Sam, I could. If I wanted to have a three hour conversation with Scary Spice about the possibility of having a sixth Spice Girl, I could. More importantly however, if I dropped it, like I inevitably would, it didn't smash to pieces, and it would probably only cost £4.99 to replace. I had a childhood ...
Now I hear you ask how I knew it was hers, well her Mother was absorbed in her own iPhone, and I didn't think her Father was a pink diamanté casing kind of guy.
'Maybe she was older than she looked?' Maybe you're right, but in my opinion she was still far too young for such a phone.
What is a child honestly going to use an iPhone for?
First off there's the expense; if you put her on contract, she'll probably be calling Hong Kong and you'll have a £300 bill at the end of the month, alternatively you're looking at £500-£700 to buy it outright.
Secondly, how do they even know how to use it properly? I struggle to move my way round iTunes lately. They can't have Facebook or Twitter, they're not interested in the stock market, and they're hardly going to be pre-booking their luggage in on an airline app. Can they be trusted? Who is to monitor who they're calling and texting? The emergency services get enough prank calls as it is and it is this kind of naivety that paedophiles search for.
This was my first mobile aged eleven. It was my Mum's old one and I used it purely to play Snake as none of my friends had a phone of their own.
I recognise the instinctive parental concern in today's society for children's safety, and the justification will be 'I need to know where she is', but why would a child so young be out on their own?
Times change, technology progresses, and we are undeniably caught up in this roller-coaster which has no intention of stopping just yet, but although we have to move with it, an attempt to retain childhoods, is not too much to ask.
