Cell Phone Addiction Is Real

Ever panic when you can’t find your phone? I do.

Ever had that lost feeling when you’ve left your phone at home or at work? I have.

Ever had to consciously tell yourself to put the phone down long enough to concentrate on driving? I have.

And yet, as bad as these behaviors are, they still pale in comparison to actual cell phone addiction, which according to one recent study from China found in this article from DrugRehabTreatment.com, “nearly one-third of high school students show[] signs of [cell phone] addiction.”

So What Is Cell Phone Addiction?

According to the above article:

The symptoms of cell phone addiction are similar to the symptoms of other types of addictions, and may include the following:

• Feeling restless or uncomfortable when not using a cell phone;
• Having irrational reactions to being without a phone if it is lost or forgotten;
• Substantial increases in the amount of time spent talking on a cell phone;
• Mounting cell phone bills that cause financial distress;
• Problems at school and work from constant cell phone use;
• Interpersonal problems from constant cell phone use; or
• Taking unnecessary risks such as using a cell phone during inappropriate times (driving, etc.).

How To Tell If You’re Teen Has Cell Phone Addiction

Aside from knowing and looking out for the warning signs of cell phone addiction referenced above, that same article listed several good suggestions to counteract cell phone addition. We’ve modified a few of them to apply to your teens. These include:

• Setting specific times during the day when your teen can use their cell phone,
• Make time for activities and hobbies that aren’t conducive to being on the phone, such as sports, watching a movie in a theater, or spending time with friends.
• Foster healthy relationships with your teens that are strong enough to last a few hours or days without constant contact.

There’s one last thing to keep in mind. Your teens watch what you do, and they often imitate your behavior. Focusing on healthy cell phone behavior yourself can also go a long way to shaping your teen’s focus on their cell phone use.

What behaviors have you seen from your teen that might be cell phone addiction? What are you doing that could be leading that way? Let us know!

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COMING SOON – SPECIAL REPORT ON

TEEN CELL PHONE SAFETY

TeenCellSafety.org is about to launch its free Special Report on Teen Cell Phone Safety. Check back soon for details!

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Don’t Rely on Laws To Protect Your Teens

A recent article on MobileTechlaw.com shows the difficulty in enforcing teen cell phone laws. Click here for the link.

The article shows how the Utah state legislature recently ended discussion on banning teen cell phone use while driving. The reason that the bill died was that the legislators couldn’t decide on the appropriate penalty for a teen caught disregarding the ban.

This is a great example of how hard it is to enforce these cell phone bans, both for legislators making the laws and for enforcement officials enforcing the laws.

As we’ve mentioned on this site before, by the time that law enforcement has to step in, it could already be too late for your teen. That’s the reason that education and instruction are great tools to help your teen become safe with their cell phones.

No parent can keep their child completely and totally safe from all harm; it’s just not possible. That includes what teens do with cars, cell phones, and a combination of both. What you can do, though, is to help them understand the dangers of using cell phones and set up safeguards early on to help them know from Day 1 what to do and what not to do with their phones.

___________________________________________________________

COMING SOON – SPECIAL REPORT ON

TEEN CELL PHONE SAFETY

TeenCellSafety.org is about to launch its free Special Report on Teen Cell Phone Safety. Check back soon for details!

Cell Phone Actions Can Put Teens In Jail

We all realize that there are many ways that our kids can get in trouble using their cell phones. However, not many people realize exactly how serious some of these crimes can be or the severe repercussions to teenagers for their actions.

For example, one New York City Teen recently used his cell phone to create a debacle on the New Jersey Turnpike. Basically, he made a false 9-1-1 call on his cell phone alleging that his own van was being taken by armed gunmen. Police stopped the van, discovered the hoax, and after three months of investigations, arrested the teen for “creating a false public alarm,” which carries a maximum five-year sentence. Click here for the full story from http://www.nj.com.

Outside of pranks like the one above, there are startling statistics about the number of driving accidents caused by teens on cell phones. There are also significant child pornography issues for teens who take lewd pictures of each other or themselves and save them or send those photos using their phones.

All of the actions described above carry severe criminal penalties, and it is important for us, as parents, to realize and properly educate our teens about these dangers. In later posts, we will describe some methods and solutions for this education, but for now, it is important just to be aware of these issues and do your best to make your teens aware of them as well.

Do you have any stories to share in this regard? We want to hear them!

___________________________________________________________

COMING SOON – SPECIAL REPORT ON

TEEN CELL PHONE SAFETY

TeenCellSafety.org is about to launch its free Special Report on Teen Cell Phone Safety. Check back soon for details!

Should Cell Phone Companies Release Teen Cell Phone Data?

Many of us have heard the heart-wrenching plight of Missey and Greg Smith. After their teen daughter was abducted, they pleaded with Verizon Wireless to release the location of their daughter’s cell phone data (which can be tracked from its wireless signal) to aid authorities in their daughter’s search. Verizon Wireless required a subpoena before complying because of potential privacy liability. Reports state that the Smith’s daughter was found within about 45 minutes after the release of the data. Unfortunately, authorities were too late, and the Smith’s daughter was the victim of a homicide. You can read more at this link from http://www.kare11.com.

The Smiths have now helped sponser a bill named for their daughter that would require cell phone providers to comply with law enforcement authorities in any investigation of this sort. According to the above article,

The Kelsey Smith Act would require cell phone companies to provide tracking data to law enforcement agencies in a timely manner when a phone customer is in danger. The language in current federal law makes such help optional.

There’s no question that laws like the Kelsey Smith Act are indeed needed and beneficial. As the article states, sometimes minutes make the difference in these cases. However, there are some examples when providing this information to law enforcement without judicial supervision may actually be detrimental.

For instance, what if a teenager is fleeing abusive parents? In that situation, giving authorities the teen’s cell phone location may be detrimental. If legislation like this is not carefully written, it could open the door to unintended consequences of otherwise well intended laws.

For this reason, judicial oversight might need to be considered as a means to ensure that everyone’s rights are being properly represented.

We’re interested in your opinion. There’s a poll following this article. Please participate and give us your thoughts.

___________________________________________________________

COMING SOON – SPECIAL REPORT ON

TEEN CELL PHONE SAFETY

TeenCellSafety.org is about to launch its free Special Report on Teen Cell Phone Safety. Check back soon for details!

Deadly Peril: Taking Your Teen’s Cell Phone Away

The next time you consider taking your teen’s cell phone away as punishment, consider the heartbreaking story of the Michigan family whose teen killed his parents when they tried to take his cell phone away. See this link for some of the details.

With this in mind, parents should consider how closely their teens value their cell phones before they even give them one and set ground rules before starting down the path of cell phone freedom.

For other parents, your teen may acquire their cell phone without your consent or without parental supervision. This becomes an even bigger problem. As always, we counsel guidance as the prime tool in dealing with teens, but that’s not always an acceptable or realistic solution.

Therefore, we welcome any feedback from you. What’s worked for you? What has not? Please tell us, and we’ll post the results in later postings.

___________________________________________________________

COMING SOON – SPECIAL REPORT ON

TEEN CELL PHONE SAFETY

TeenCellSafety.org is about to launch its free Special Report on Teen Cell Phone Safety. Check back soon for details!