Checking Email

One of the things that the girls did during the sleepover was to exchange email addresses. On Sunday, my daughter spent a lot of time reading and writing emails to her friends. They talked all about the party, and they talked a bit about boys, too! :) My son also emails a lot, but he is more into IM (instant messaging) than anything else. My daughter and her friends haven't quite caught on to that yet. Oh, and I think it is official now: my teens are the last people on earth who do not own their own cell phones! (ha ha!) According to them, and confirmed by observation, EVERYONE else has a cell phone and they are the ONLY ones who do not have one!! Oh, poor things! Actually, I am ready for them to have cell phones because there are times when they cannot be easily reached and they either use their friends' phones or borrow mine. The days of calling from pay phones is OVER--you can hardly find them anymore! However, their father is very reluctant because he fears the cost of high phone bills. I suggested a compromise with pre-paid plans: they use up their minutes, they have to earn more. Still, he is pretty much "old school" in his thinking about this. I think they should at least have them when they are driving/riding around with friends in the future: GPS, anyone? I want to be able to keep in touch with them, and today's technology helps us keep sharper eyes on them than our parents did when we were teens. Remember the excuses: I couldn't find a pay phone, I didn't have a dime, I was at my friends house (when we were really somewhere else)--nope, today's teens can't get away with that, at least not very easily. Phones with GPS means that we can know EXACTLY where they are at all times...no excuses, no lies (or they WILL be caught in them). And I've also heard of Lo-jack being put on cars to find them by GPS as well. Not that I want to "spy" on them...I just want to know where they are as long as I am considered responsible for them. And the safety issue is paramount as well: being able to call home whenever they need us is VERY important. So I think owning a cell phone in today's society is almost imperative. They just may be getting their own phones this Christmas! :) Now texting...that is a different issue! I'm not sure if having a phone that allows texting/cameraphone/etc. is as important as simply having a connection with each other. However, it seems that even the simplest phones today have all the "bells and whistles" even if you don't need them. I predict that my teens will be texting and downloading photos on their own phones by this time next year! :) At least I will be able to find them at all times this way...I think it is an important issue that we will tackle soon. Until then, there is always email and instant messaging on the family computers (not to mention TALKING on our home phone or my cell phone)! :)