ST. BONAVENTURE (April 19) - Gabriella Morales says she sees children these days in groups texting quickly on their cell phones. She sees children not talking to one another and focusing on texting while their hands grip tightly onto the phones that barely fit in their hands.
According to C& R Researching, a consumer and market insights firm, more than 20 percent of children ages 6 to 9 have cell phones. College students, many of whom have texted for several years, argue that children’s texting will impact basic reading, writing and social skills. However, elementary school teachers disagree and say other social effects apply too, such as changes in parenting habits.
According to C& R Researching, a consumer and market insights firm, more than 20 percent of children ages 6 to 9 have cell phones. College students, many of whom have texted for several years, argue that children’s texting will impact basic reading, writing and social skills. However, elementary school teachers disagree and say other social effects apply too, such as changes in parenting habits.
“I had my first cell phone when I was 13, but I did not start texting till I was 17,” says Morales, a junior St. Bonaventure University childhood studies major. “Today you see these 10-year-old kids with cell phones texting, and I definitely think these kids are too young to have phones.”
Children who focus on their cell phones do not go outside to play as much as those who don’t have them, education students say.
“When I do observations with children and I read their reports, I see that they are not well written,” says Morales.
Students say they have seen that kids have a hard time speaking to adults and socially have difficulty speaking face to face with others.
