Who's the Adult Here, Anyway?

1196-J. That was the first phone number I remember having as a kid. We needed to pick up the phone, wait for the operator (no dialing possible) to answer, then recite the number we wanted. She would then connect us at her leisure, and that was that. It made calling in for radio station contests incredibly hard, and usually, it was a party line which meant any number of people could listen in if they simply picked up their phone. Oh yes, there was a cord as well. Portable? no. We were stuck, standing in the living room while talking to a friend or, gasp, a potential date. That's why I really don't get all the hoopla surrounding cell phone use by children.
According to Christopher Collins, an analyst for the Yankee Group that does research, more than half of all children over the age of 12 in this country have cell phones...innovative cell phones...not the kind I use. Schools typically ban their use during the class day, and arguments rage about the wisdom of having them at all since it seems to stunt the growth of actual human contact. But that's not the source of my concern here.
Parents get all fired up over things like sexting, hugely expensive text bills, inappropriate downloading and unnecessary expenses like new ring tones. One woman interviewed found a $19.99 bill on her Verizon Wireless bill; her son had downloaded a "joke of the day' application, thinking it was free. not so.
Nick Andes, in 2005, had an "unlimited" texting plan so he thought he would try to break the world record for texting (seriously, he needs a hobby). After 217,000 texts in one month, he had his record...and a bill from the company for $26,000. Seems as though "unlimited" was limited to 100,000 text messages in a month (can you say "carpal tunnel syndrome"?). I'm sure many parents have discovered the same "oops" on a different (we hope) level.
My point? What the hell are parents thinking? Get the kid a phone...not the latest computer! Limit the applications to making calls and sending text messages restricted by number. NO internet access...NO camera on the phone...just a phone to call. Is it so hard to understand? Most kids have phones that are more complicated than their parents have.
AT&T, for example, has something called "Smart Limits" which allows parents to set parameters for numbers, web sites and purchases made with the internet connection.
Geez, this can't be so hard. Say "NO!" to your kid every now and then.
Of course, I'm just jealous because my parents wouldn't even leave the room when I was trying to talk to a girl...and I never won any kind of contest when an operator was involved.
But then, I had P.F. Flyer tennis shoes instead of Converse All-Stars like all the other kids.
BCNUL8R