AGE RESTRICTION OVER THE USE
OF MOBILE PHONES FOR CHILDREN
Submitted by:
Name: Mohammad Fazley Rabbi Apu.
ID: 1620506663
Section: 9
Submitted to:
NNr
Department of English
Date of submission:
27th March, 2018.
Content.
Table of Contents
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction. ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Objective of the Study .................................................................................................................................. 3
Participant Profile ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Research methodology ................................................................................................................................. 5
Data Analysis. ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Suggestions. ................................................................................................................................................ 15
Conclusion. .................................................................................................................................................. 16
Referencing. ................................................................................................................................................ 17
Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 19
Abstract
In recent years, researchers, medical experts, and children specialists have expressed alarm about
the potential health and psychological threats concerning children or adolescents due to the use
of mobile phones. This paper examines that mobile phones can put children in a zone of harm,
but restriction on using phones for their own betterment, can give them an escape route from
these damages.
Introduction.
The more advanced we become, the more dependent we are on technology. Mobile phones are
one of these technologies, which has become an integral part of any person who is involved in
any kind of an occupation.
We often tend to ignore the negligible. Children also fall among the people that use mobile
phones. Some are provided with mobile phones for the right purpose, maybe to make a call. But
often it is seen many of them are fond of using mobile phones for video games, or other activities
to help them entertain.
Mobile phones emit a radiation called Radiofrequency Radiation, which can be harmful for
children if exposed to it. According to oncologist Hardell (2018), a research conducted by the
International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded “Radiofrequency radiation from devices
that emit nonionizing RF radiation in the frequency range 30 kHz-300 GHz is a Group 2B, that
is, a possible human carcinogen”. Carcinogen is any substance that promotes the formation of
cancer.
It is not that just threats of physical damage concern the children, they can get psychologically
affected as well. Children can get addicted to mobile phones, they can chat and talk to their
friends on their mobile phones and play games. They can get access to sites and contents they
should not be on. Eventually the use of mobile phones can lead children to engage in
inappropriate behaviors, thus in the long term can impair their discipline, ethics, and
perspectives.
Though a few research results are at question, the matter of concern is not about whether mobile
phone usage actually affect health to that extent or not, but what should the elders do to protect
the children from this problem whether all the hazards involved or not. (Thesis Statement) This
paper considers that an age restriction must be put on the use of mobile phones to prevent the
children from harm.
Objective of the Study
It is expected that the study will provide some informative, and useful insights on the harmful
nature of mobile phones around children, and will also provide solution for this matter
Participant Profile
A survey with a questionnaire was conducted with 3 medical doctors, of which two of them are
working as child health specialists, and one is a neurosurgeon, who are well versed on their
respective fields, one advocate from the Supreme-Court, one teacher from a Primary school, and
fifteen people who play a role as parents at home.
Research methodology
The main intention of this perusal is to focus on the restriction of mobile phones, based on age to
prevent children from coming in harm from the side effects of it.
I wanted to complete my research paper fruitfully with proper information and so I have tried my
level best to give proper attention and have done all the work with patience.
For my primary research, I will conducted a survey questionnaire consisting of ten multiple
choice questions was sent out to fifteen parents, three doctors, one advocate, and one teacher. An
interview was conducted with all of these people. Data collected from the respondents is shown
is charts and graphs.
For my secondary research I tried to collect information from various websites and statistical
reports. I also searched for further information through standard search engines like Wikipedia,
Google etc.
Data Analysis.
The following charts and graphs below show the opinions of the respondents through
percentages.
1. Should there be any restriction for children to use their phones
before a certain age?
15%
55%
30%
Yes
No
Maybe
Introduction: The pie chart presents the opinion of 20 parents and experts from a survey, in
percentage, that if there should be any age restriction on using mobile phones for children.
Findings: According to the demonstrated data, 55% of the respondents agreed that there should
be an age restriction for children to use mobile phones and said ‘yes’, whereas 30% disagreed
and said ‘no, who believed there should not be any such restrictions. And only 15% respondents
responded with ‘maybe’ for an answer.
The percentage of agreement on having a restriction for children to use phones before a certain
age was higher in percentage than that of a ‘no’. But the percentage of ‘maybe’ as an answer was
lower than the rest of the answers.
Conclusion: The highest percentage for an answer was for ‘yes’, whereas ‘maybe’ was the
lowest preferred opinion.
2.
Do you believe that if children are handed mobile
phones at a young age, they can get addicted to it?
40%
35%
Percentage of people
30%
25%
20%
40%
35%
15%
25%
10%
5%
0%
Absolutely
No
Absolutely
No
Differs from person to
person
Differs from person to person
Introduction: The above bar chart displays the answers of the respondents in percentage, if they
believe that handing mobile phones to young children could make them addicted to it or not.
Findings: According to the bar chart it can be seen that 40% of the participants believed that
handing mobile phones to the young ones will not actually make them addicted to it. But 35%
believe that it can absolutely make them addicted to mobile phones. On the other hand only 25%
thought that it differs from person to person.
The percentage of people that believed that children can’t get addicted to mobile phones were
higher than that of both who believed they can get addicted to mobile phones, and it differs from
person to person. But again the percentage of people who believed it ‘differs from person to
person’ was lower than the percentage of people who believe that they can actually get addicted
to mobile phones.
Conclusion: The percentage of people who believed that children cannot get addicted to mobile
phones were the highest, which is a ‘yes’, on the other hand the percentage of people that believed
it differs from person to person was the lowest.
3. Do you think using mobiles phones at a young age can
actually harm the children mentally or physically?
Maybe
15%
No
30%
Yes
55%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Percentage of people
Yes
No
Maybe
Introduction: The above bar chart shows the views of participants in percentage regarding the
matter that if they agree that using mobile phones at an early stage can make children addicted to
it.
Findings: In the survey it was seen that a huge portion of the participants answered yes, mobile
phones can make children addicted, which was a total of 55% who agreed to it. And a fair
amount people responded with a no, which is 30% to be exact. On the other hand, only small part
of the participants were not sure if children would actually get addicted eventually, this 15% of
the participants responded with a maybe for the answer.
The percentage of ‘no’ as an answer was lower in percentage than a ‘yes’, but on the other hand
it was higher percentage wise than ‘maybe’ as an answer. But the percentage of a yes answer was
higher than both the other answers.
Conclusion: Therefore, ‘yes’ was the highest response from the participants, whereas ‘maybe’
was the lowest.
4. In which way do you think it will affect the children more at
the initial stage that is if you think it will in any case, physically
or mentally?
45%
Percentage of people
40%
40%
35%
30%
25%
25%
20%
20%
15%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Physically
Mentally/Psychologically.
Same.
Won’t harm at all in any
way
Introduction: The following line graph shows the percentage of people’s belief about, in which
way they think children are most likely to get affected by the side effects of mobile phones at the
initial stage.
Findings: The data displays that 25% of the people said children are most likely to get affected
physically by the side effects of mobile phones, on the contrary 15% of the people agreed on
psychological or mental affects. On the other hand 40 percentage of the people said the affects
will be same due to the side effects. But 20% disagreed with the idea and responded with an
answer that it won’t have any harm on the children at all.
The percentage of the answer ‘same’ was higher than the other three answers, and followed by it
was the answer ‘physically’, which was higher in percentage than the answer ‘won’t harm at all
in any way’. The answer ‘mentally/psychologically’ was seen to be lower in terms of percentage
comparison to the other three answers.
Conclusion: As an answer ‘same’ was the highest, but the lowest was ‘mentally/physically’.
5. Which do you think is the proper age for a
person to get his/her hands on a mobile
phone?
10%
25%
5-9 years
20%
10-13 years
14-17 years
After 18 years
15%
Doesn’t really matter.
35%
Introduction: The chart presented represents the opinions of the participants of the survey in
percentage, regarding when the age is right for a person to receive his/her phone.
Findings: According to the answers of the survey, it is seen here that 10% of the people thought
that it was right for a person to receive his/her phone at the age of 5-9 years. But 20% people
believed that 10-13 years was the right idea, whereas majority, which is 35% thought that 14-17
years would be the perfect age. On the other hand, 15% is seen to have believed after 18 years
would be appropriate. Lastly, 25% said it doesn’t matter at all when a person receive his/her first
cell phone.
The belief that ‘14-17 years’ was the appropriate age to get a person’s hands over a mobile
phone was higher in percentage than the other options, which was followed by the answer
‘doesn’t really matter’. The percentage of ‘10-13 years’ was lower than the previous two
answers, but higher than that of percentages, ‘after 18 years’ and ‘5-9 years’, which was lower
than all the options involved.
Conclusion: Therefore, according to the participant’s answers, the highest percentage was for
the answer it doesn’t really matter’, and the lowest was for the answer ‘5-9 years’.
6. Do you think the government should intervene in this
matter and make a law for it?
35%
65%
Yes
No
Introduction: The pie chart shows the opinions of the respondents in percentage, about the
matter that whether the government should intervene in this matter and make a law or not.
Findings: With the data presented, it can be seen that 65% of the people believed that the
government should make a law in favor of this matter, whereas 35% of the people are seen to be
occupied with the belief that government should not intervene.
‘Yes’ was higher in percentage than the second option given, “no”, which was lower than the
first given option.
Conclusion: Therefore, ‘yes’ was the highest chosen answer, on the other hand, ‘no’ was the
lowest.
7. According to researchers the radiation emitted from
mobile phones can be the cause of cancer in the future for
children who remain close to such radiation. Do you believe
it’s true?
Maybe
30%
No
25%
Yes
45%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Percentage of people
Yes
No
Maybe
Introduction: The following bar chart demonstrates the belief of people in percentage, about
initiation of cancer due to the radiation emitted from mobile phones.
Findings: According to the information 45% of the people chose ‘yes’ as an answer and agreed
to believe that radiation can be the cause for potential cancer among children in touch with
mobile phones, whereas only 25% went with a ‘no’. And 30% of the participants settled for
‘maybe’.
The scale for yes was higher as percentage than the others. On the contrary, ‘no’ as an answer for
this question was lower than the other two answers, thus the percentage of ‘maybe’ was higher
than the percentage of ‘no’, but lower than that of ‘yes’.
Conclusion: Therefore, ‘yes’ was the highest chosen answer, but ‘no’ was the least chosen one.
8. Do you think using mobile phones might cause a
child to have a negative attitude/ behavior towards
life?
50%
45%
Percentage of people
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
45%
15%
30%
25%
10%
5%
0%
High chances
High chances
The possibilities are slight
The possibilities are slight
No
No
Introduction: The bar graph presents the opinions of people on if they thought a child might
grow a negative attitude/ behavior due to getting in touch with a mobile phone, the opinions are
presented in the form of percentage.
Findings: On the basis of the given statistics, it is seen that 45% of the participants believed
mobile phones can cause negative turn, and thus went with the answer ‘high chances’, but 30%
can be seen for ‘no’. On the other hand, 25% is for option ‘the possibilities are slight’.
The percentage for ‘high chances’ was higher than both, ‘no’ and, ‘the possibilities are slight’,
On the contrary, the percentage of the answer ‘the possibilities are slight’ was lower than the
other two, which makes the percentage of the option ‘no’ fall in the middle of the two.
Conclusion: The percentage of the answer ‘high chances’ for this question was the highest,
conversely the percentage for the answer ‘the possibilities are slight’ was the lowest.
9. MOBILE PHONES SURE DO HAVE SOME
POSITIVE SIDES AS WELL, BUT DO YOU THINK
THEY OUTWEIGH THE NEGATIVE ONES?
DEPENDS ON THE USER
55%
NO
YES
35%
20%
PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE
Introduction: The following graph displays the answers of people in percentage, in regard of
their thoughts about the positive sides of the mobile phone, outweighing the negative sides
Findings: It is seen from the survey that 20% people sided with a ‘yes’ and agreed that yes it
would outweigh the negative sides. Whereas 35% responded with a ‘no’. And 55% thought that
it solely depends on the user to let its effects in action, and agreed for the answer ‘depends’ on
the user’.
The percentage for the option ‘no’ was higher than the percentage of ‘yes’, but lower than the
option, ‘depends on the user’, which was higher than the other two options. And the percentage
of the answer ‘yes’ was lower than both the other options in comparison.
Conclusion: The percentage of the option ‘depends on the user’ was the highest, whereas the
percentage of ‘no’ was the lowest.
10. HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK IT IS TO KEEP THE
CHILDREN AWAY FROM MOBILE PHONES, KEEPING IN
MIND OF THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HAZARDS THEY
MIGHT FACE IN THE FUTURE?
PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE
40%
35%
35%
30%
30%
25%
20%
15%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
VERY IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT
LESS IMPORTANT
NOT IMPORTANT AT ALL
OPINIONS
Introduction: The line graph demonstrates the answers and opinions of people in percentage, on
the importance of keeping mobile phones away from the hands of children for their physical and
psychological safety.
Findings: After analyzing the data it is seen that according to the people, 15% of them thought it
is very important, whereas 35% thought it to be important. And 30% of the people thought it was
not that important, and went with the answer ‘less important’. On the other hand 20% of the
people thought it was not important at all.
The answer ‘important’ was higher in percentage according to the choices of the people, than the
other 3, and is followed by the option ‘less important’, which was higher than the other two.
Whereas the percentage of ‘not important at all’ was higher than the percentage of the option
‘very important’, which was lower than all the other options.
Conclusion: The percentage of the answer ‘important’ was the highest, and on the other hand,
‘very important’ had the lowest amount of percentage.
Suggestions.
According to many researchers, and specialists it has been told that usage of mobile phones can be
risky for the young one. It can hamper their brain development due to all the multitasking,
according to Jensen. Jensen further said, “We know for a fact teens have very underdeveloped
impulse control and empathy and judgment compared to adults,” and which can lead them to
unwanted and inappropriate internet encounters. And there is also physical threats as well
obviously, Dr. Wargo a professor at the Yale University said, “The scientific evidence is
sufficiently robust showing that cellular device pose significant health risk to children and pregnant
women”. Eventually it can lead to brain tumor, reduced fertility, other cancers, and genetic
damage. It can put the children into depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and also into improper
behavior and negative attitude towards life. According to an article by Courtney, she suggested
that to avoid such circumstances, parents should play the vital role of the savior. Proper guidance,
and quality time should be spent with the children, to help them avoid cell phones, encourage face
to face social interaction, and help them repel their boredom. And government should also play a
role in this regard because not everyone is conscious enough. According to most of the people it
would be wise to have a restriction over the usage of cell phones for children, maybe it be official/
unofficial. And as Robb said, to describe the attraction over phones for young children, “addiction
would be the right word”, and we all know, addiction is something we can never have control over,
so before the children gets themselves addicted, it is better that we intervene for their betterment.
So to be a smart parent, giving your child won’t be the smartest decision, being a responsible and
aware parent would be a better choice.
Conclusion.
The world has developed much in the last few years, and it is impossible to resist ourselves from
the touch of technology in everyday life, but we can sure maintain to have a balance for what is
good and bad for us. Using of mobile phones by children can lead to severe health hazards, both
mental and physical. Only because this generation is the first to be exposed to mobile phones,
and its affects is that we do not have any example in front of us, but that doesn’t change it that
potential accidents are to come in the future, whose reason of initiation will be mobile phones.
Though it has its good sides, but bad sides are not negligible. To save the future generation we
should restrict them from using mobiles phones, if not fully, at least in a scheduled manner, so
that their exposure to radiation is not up to intensive level. A man’s prime growth of mind takes
place during his childhood, but if we let it ruin itself even before it got the chance to grow, that
would be regretful. Therefore, we should take required measures before it’s too late. And not
hand the children with their respective mobiles phones until the appropriate time.
Referencing.]
1. Hardell, L.(2018). Effects of Mobile Phones on Children’s and Adolescents’
asdasdadHealth: A commentary. Retrieved from
asdasdadhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28504422
2. Jensen., U. (2017). The teenage brain. Retrieved from
aaaaaaaahttp://time.com/4974863/kids-smartphones-depression/
3. Wargo, J. (2012) . How safe are mobile phones for children?. Yale University.
ffffffffffRetrieved from http://www.mobilewise.org/facts/how-safe-are-mobilessssssss-phones-for-children
4. Courtney, B, (2017). How mobile phones can affect our mental health. Brokenhaven
asdasdaBlog. Retrieved from https://www.brookhavenretreat.com/cms/blogasdasda22/item/3038-cell-phone-usage-mental-health
5. Robb, M. (2018). Children’s mental health in danger because of cell phones.
asdasdaNewsweek. New York, NY: Harper. Retrieved from
ddddddhttp://www.newsweek.com/children-mental-health-danger-because-cellphones-parents-fear-816810
6. http://www.momjunction.com/articles/harmful-effects-of-mobile-phones-onkids_00352662/#gref
7. Nelsen, R. (2018). Children Face higher risks from cell phones. Retrieved from
asdasdaashttps://www.webmd.com/children/news/20140819/children-cell-phones#1
8. Novoteney, A. (2017). Smart phone=Not so smart parenting?. (p.52).
Appendix
1. Should there be any restriction for children to use their phones before a certain age?
A. Yes.
B. No.
C. Maybe.
2. Do you believe that if children are handed mobile phones at a young age, they can get
addicted to it?
A. Absolutely
B. No.
C. Differs from person to person.
3. Do you think using mobiles phones at a young age can actually harm the children
mentally or physically?
A. Yes.
B. No.
C. Maybe
4. In which way do you think it will affect the children more at the initial stage that is if you
think it will in any case, physically or mentally?
A. Physically.
B. Mentally/Psychologically.
C. Same.
D. Won’t harm at all in any way.
5. Which do you think is the proper age for a person to get his/her hands on a mobile
phone?
A. 5-9
B. 10-13
C. 14-17
D. After 18
E. Doesn’t really matter.
6. Do you think the government should intervene in this matter and make a law for it?
A. Yes.
B. No.
7. According to researchers the radiation emitted from mobile phones can be the cause of
cancer in the future for children who remain close to such radiation. Do you believe it’s
true?
A. Yes.
B. No.
C. Maybe.
8. Do you think using mobile phones might cause a child to have a negative attitude/
behavior towards life?
A. High chances
B. The possibilities are slight
C. No
9. Mobile phones sure do have some positive sides as well, but do you think they outweigh
the negative ones?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Depends on the user
10. How important do you think it is to keep the children away from mobile phones, keeping
in mind of the mental and physical hazards they might face in the future?
A. Very important
B. Important
C. Less important
D. Not important at all.