Electronics, Cell Phones, and Tweens oh my!

Happy October 1st!  Throwback Tuesday -- Here is a picture of super-son his first Halloween -- wasn't he a chunky pumpkin?  Ahh,  I miss those days!

I'm not even sure where to start with today's post.  Maybe my frustrations are a sign that I'm getting older :(    Society has made lots of advancement with technology over the past decade.  Does anyone remember when cell phones had to sit in the passenger seat of your car?  They were far from mobile!    Their purpose was to provide communication when a land-line wasn't available.  And, texting came along and changed the world & let's not forget the world wide web (WWW) - now, it's available along with thousands of apps for our smart phones.  Let's face it - some of us have dumb phones too.  

So much electronic gibberish!  I certainly support the advancement of technology.  BUT (you knew that was coming didn't you) at what expense do we trade our communication skills, etiquette, and personal interactions for an electronic device.   Super-son started middle school this year.   I knew the "cell phone" conversation was coming but in our minds we had thought thirteen seemed a reasonable age to CONSIDER one.  ;)    Of course, the first week we had a bus issue and the second week another bus issue & the third week having to stay after school for a project - all of which set the wheels in motion far sooner than we expected.

We know folks whose kids have had cell phones since 4th grade.  Yes, fourth grade.  I don't know why -I'm still scratching my head trying to figure it out.  The "phone was free".   Ahh - yes the phone was free but the monthly data plan and cell phone usage and texting are NOT!   To each his own,  my circumstances don't fit their needs and my situation is not theirs. 

So, the short of the story - Super-son is not getting an iPhone4 even though they are "cheap" right now and it would eliminate the "need" for his iPod.  A co-worker has an old Blackberry that she is kind enough to let us have.  We found a local company that has a $12 plan - (250 minutes & 250 texts).  Honestly,  it is all we feel like he needs right now.  The future may necessitate changes to the plan but for a twelve and half year old - we think it's the most reasonable. 

It's less likely with this plan that the cell phone will become an appendage.  We want him to understand the importance of actually having conversations (face to face) & not looking at a cell phone while having dinner with other folks (yes, these are pet peeves of mine).