If you saw a ten year old girl with an iPhone....

That is absurd. How is every parent supposed to afford an ipad for their child? Especially if they have more than one going to that school at a time. My mother wouldn't have been able to afford it at the time my brother and I were that age. I better hope I start making 6 figures before having a child because the requirements will get even more expensive by the time they're in school. :grumble:

Public schools going to this will provide the iPads in the classrooms. No one is making parents purchase an iPad. Many private schools already have this policy and the cost is written into the tuition.

It's still unnecessary. What's wrong with using textbooks? They aren't that heavy.

The issues with traditional textbooks are that they have to be disposed of and brand new ones bought once a new edition is released. The cost of materials, production, and transportation all get passed on to the schools.

A digital textbook doesn't have to be completely re-created when a mistake is found, so new editions get released less often.

My kids were around 11 when they got cel phones. It's been wonderful being able to reach them when I need to. Both were in theater and had practices that an inconsistent release times. Additionally, we are fortunate to live in a safe enough area that they have been able to walk independently to parks and to friends houses from around 11-12 years old, and them having cel phones gave me peace of mind.

How young is too young varies by child, and it's really nobody else's business to judge.

i guess ive made some assumptions that are not true.. i guess it comes from the fact the people im talking about all work in offices and need those phones as part of their job and it just bleeds over into their life. but if you have a job, like the farmer you mentioned, that doesnt need the smart phone capabilities there would be reason for them to not have one at all.

Does your boss make you get a smart phone? Because the people I know with jobs work in offices too, and none of them need one...are you away from your computer that much?

yes a lot of jobs require it. and besides that just for the fun...applications etc...thats why everyone i know has one.

Haha, that's one of the reasons why I don't want one

hmmm so people still use non smart phones...next you are going to tell me they have land lines too!

\\

I don't have a smart phone and I also have a land line. So what's up with your sarcasm? Land lines are very useful for "reverse 911" calls and for screening phone calls, and most of the time my cell phone is off or lost inside my purse, anyway.

My husband has an Android, so good for him, but I am not interested in getting one.

As of for the OP post,. shame on those people for being so rude to the child.

what sarcasm? im being honest. you can screen calls from your cell phone. and if you need a throw away phone number get a free one from Google.

land lines are a waste of money in most cases if you have a cell phone.

i guess ive made some assumptions that are not true.. i guess it comes from the fact the people im talking about all work in offices and need those phones as part of their job and it just bleeds over into their life. but if you have a job, like the farmer you mentioned, that doesnt need the smart phone capabilities there would be reason for them to not have one at all.

I can think of at least 3 dozen reasons a farmer would & should use a smart phone.

name them

i guess ive made some assumptions that are not true.. i guess it comes from the fact the people im talking about all work in offices and need those phones as part of their job and it just bleeds over into their life. but if you have a job, like the farmer you mentioned, that doesnt need the smart phone capabilities there would be reason for them to not have one at all.

Does your boss make you get a smart phone? Because the people I know with jobs work in offices too, and none of them need one...are you away from your computer that much?

My job requires me to carry a smart phone. They originally issued Blackberries till RIM bot bypassed by just about everyone. They offered me a Droid, but I already have my own iPhone, so I just connected my iPhone to their Exchange server. Boom - no need to carry 2 phones.

I think 13 should be the youngest for someone to have a phone. But I would never say anything about it.

Would you b*tch her out for it? Assume it wasn't her phone?

Would you think her parents were too permissive?

Would you say anything or make any judgements at all?

My daughter just texted me to let me know that someone just gave her hell for "playing with her parents iPhone" when she told them it was HER phone, they then, IN FRONT OF HER, made some rather derogatory comments about my parenting choices and how permissive parents make bad children.

I almost wish I was there so I could give that person a piece of my mind.

Lauren

As long as she's not texting and driving, I don't see an issue with it.

But to answer your question, no of course there's no point in yelling at the child. One of my son's friends is 9 and he carries an iphone to school every day. I don't know if he comes home to an empty house or what, but it's not my beeswax.

That is absurd. How is every parent supposed to afford an ipad for their child? Especially if they have more than one going to that school at a time. My mother wouldn't have been able to afford it at the time my brother and I were that age. I better hope I start making 6 figures before having a child because the requirements will get even more expensive by the time they're in school. :grumble:

Public schools going to this will provide the iPads in the classrooms. No one is making parents purchase an iPad. Many private schools already have this policy and the cost is written into the tuition.

It's still unnecessary. What's wrong with using textbooks? They aren't that heavy.

The issues with traditional textbooks are that they have to be disposed of and brand new ones bought once a new edition is released. The cost of materials, production, and transportation all get passed on to the schools.

A digital textbook doesn't have to be completely re-created when a mistake is found, so new editions get released less often.

I guess so. I guess as a writer I'm against e-books of all kinds. Now schools are starting to turn their backs on the good old-fashioned book.

wow ....why is everyone so against technology....books are becoming obsolete...why fight it? digital is cheaper, greener(if u care about that) and much easier to update like someone else said.

i love that i was able to give away a hundred pounds of books and replaced it with an 8 oz Kindle.

as a writer i would think you'd embrace ebooks...at least now you have a shot at getting your stuff read.

People barely read anymore as it is or if they are, it's ****ty books like Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey. I'm not even writing at the moment, I'm just working to pay off the useless degree that says I know how. I say useless as no one seems to give a **** about books unless a movie gets made for it first..

Imagine reading a good story and then, oh no, you have a glitch and the next page won't load. So I guess you won't know what happens. And what if the power goes out? I guess you can't read when that battery runs out. And how can you get your favorite author to sign your book when it's on a Kindle?

I don't want to embrace e-books as people can pirate books off of it if they know how. Much like musicians, I'd lose money and publication companies take the vast majority of sales anyway. You need to sell millions to make a living off of it. So yeah, I'm a bitter writer.