Teenagers and telephony
One of my colleagues in the erstwhile organization was transferred to Delhi few years ago. I went calling on him and his folks at their residence few weeks after his family had settled down at Delhi. His elder daughter had moved out after her marriage and the younger daughter was in final year school. My colleague said that she was always on phone to somebody or other and was wondering what there was to convey day in and day out. He also opined that she spent more time on telephone / mobile than on her studies. He was one of the first people to face the effects of opening of telecommunication sector on youngsters.
It is our turn now. My elder daughter EldDot is taking her final school examinations next month. She is always on phone with her friends asking something or the other. We know her conversations are harmless but most of the time the landline at residence used to be engaged. In fact this could be taken as a sign that she was home! The balance on her mobile phone which has prepaid connection used to run out very fast frustrating us.
It took a lot of cajoling to keep “telephony tendency” of EldDot at reasonable levels. The time she spends on telephone is reasonable now though she has to be reminded of it very often. We have also allowed her to talk at length to her friends without being disturbed by parental control and reasonable privacy.
It is funny at times. My folks were watching a current affairs programme on TVon the hot topic “Mumbai for Indians” where the moderator as well as the participants were pretty exited and were speaking at a rapid pace very excitedly. I also could hear EldDot holding forth pretty excitedly in one of the bedrooms. It turned out that she was enjoying a “chill out “session on her mobile phone and she was having a go like the TV programme participants.
This frenetic pace is going to go up in a couple of years as our second daughter YungDot enters her teens. As things stand YungDot is pretty short and sweet on phone. But this can not be taken as a sign of what future holds in store. Hope we will not reach a stage where we will have to address our daughters through their mobiles even if all of us are home!
What comes as relief after listening to other parents is that it is a common “teenage” trend in most households. We have company, really large company!
It is our turn now. My elder daughter EldDot is taking her final school examinations next month. She is always on phone with her friends asking something or the other. We know her conversations are harmless but most of the time the landline at residence used to be engaged. In fact this could be taken as a sign that she was home! The balance on her mobile phone which has prepaid connection used to run out very fast frustrating us.
It took a lot of cajoling to keep “telephony tendency” of EldDot at reasonable levels. The time she spends on telephone is reasonable now though she has to be reminded of it very often. We have also allowed her to talk at length to her friends without being disturbed by parental control and reasonable privacy.
It is funny at times. My folks were watching a current affairs programme on TVon the hot topic “Mumbai for Indians” where the moderator as well as the participants were pretty exited and were speaking at a rapid pace very excitedly. I also could hear EldDot holding forth pretty excitedly in one of the bedrooms. It turned out that she was enjoying a “chill out “session on her mobile phone and she was having a go like the TV programme participants.
This frenetic pace is going to go up in a couple of years as our second daughter YungDot enters her teens. As things stand YungDot is pretty short and sweet on phone. But this can not be taken as a sign of what future holds in store. Hope we will not reach a stage where we will have to address our daughters through their mobiles even if all of us are home!
What comes as relief after listening to other parents is that it is a common “teenage” trend in most households. We have company, really large company!
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