Understanding the thumb culture of teens

Many parents view their child’s cellphone habits as extremely anti-social behaviour while teens view cellphones as an integral part of their social activities.

“The cellphone has widened the generation gap by providing teens with way of communicating that is not understood by many parents,” says Dr Pieter Streicher, managing director of BulkSMS.com.

“We have launched the Parents Corner website (www.parentscorner.org.za) to help parents better understand their child’s mobile lifestyle. This educational resource will go far in demystifying the use of mobile technologies,” continues Dr Streicher. The Parents Corner website is part of BulkSMS.com’s campaign to promote responsible messaging and cellphone use.

The issues tackled by Parents Corner include: subscription services, cellphone addiction, talking to strangers in mobile chat rooms, cyberbullying and accessing adult mobile content. The website also provides useful tips on how to read your cellphone bill and how to deal with SMS spam.

An educational psychologist, Hannelie Kotze, writes for the Parents Corner blog. Her regular column tackles issues and better equips parents to make informed parenting decisions when it comes to cellphones.

“The Parents Corner website will give parents confidence in approaching their child about their cellphone habits. Yet, it is important to remember that the only way for parents to really close the generation gap is to use the mobile technology tools that their children are using,” concludes Dr Streicher.

BulkSMS.com is a global mobile messaging firm headquartered in Cape Town. The company offers discounted SMS rates to schools via its Community.BulkSMS messaging service.