Cell Phones and Texting

What are the risks?

Content:

  • Using cell phones with Internet capability and mobile TV access, adolescents can be exposed to sexually explicit content and/or violent content.
  • Like personal computers, cell phones with Internet capability are vulnerable to spam, viruses and other malicious content. Downloads, such as ringtones and wallpaper, from disreputable sources may violate copyright laws, and have the potential to harbour malicious content (i.e. spam, viruses, etc.).
  • Photos or videos taken by cell phones can disclose a user’s appearance and location.

Conduct:

  • Text messages/Instant Messages (IMs) containing private, personal information could be:

    • Sent to the wrong cell phone user;
    • Shared with other cell phone users (remember once a cell phone user sends a text or photo, they lose control over where this content may go);

  • Cell phones with cameras come with risks including:

    • o A child/adolescent can be photographed or videotaped without her/his knowledge, or can photograph or videotape someone else without her/his knowledge.
    • Photographs or videos taken from a cell phone can be sent to other cell phone users where they can be reproduced, altered or posted online without the subject’s consent or knowledge.

  • Some public facilities have banned camera/video phones, which your child/adolescent should be aware of before taking a picture.

  • Internet/mobile TV access can impact learning at school if restrictions aren't placed upon cell phone use. Schools generally have policies to address cases where students are caught cheating or plagiarizing, and many divisions have re-drafted rules to include cheating and plagiarizing via cell phone.
  • Adolescents whose cell phones do not feature unlimited text messaging/IM use or unlimited Internet/TV access, could be racking up large bills without a parent's knowledge. Also, the downloading of ringtones, games, logos, etc., is often charged directly to the cell phone bill via the service provider, therefore requiring no credit card numbers. Some plans also bill the user per text message received and/or sent.

Contact:

  • Relationships that start online and through texting seem to progress faster than they do offline. This may result in the adolescent wanting to meet up in person with the individual they have been corresponding with – kids may not perceive any threat or need for safety precautions. This is further complicated by adolescents being connected and reachable 24 hours a day on their cell phones.
  • Personal boundaries can be crossed earlier through text messaging, and very personal, sometimes sexual comments or questions can be raised by others.
  • An adolescent could receive harassing or unwanted texts/IMs, and/or spam text messages which could contain inappropriate material.
  • Offenders are able to conceal their identity in IMs by using a false name, age, etc.
  • An increasing number of adolescents run the risk of falling victim to fraudulent advertising campaigns via mobile browsing and text messaging. "Spam" via text messaging is a growing problem, as advertisers learn to target cell phone users.
  • Phones with Bluetooth technology are able to connect with other Bluetooth-enabled phones within a certain range. When Bluetooth is activated, your adolescent may receive unexpected and unwanted messages from other devices nearby. In addition, when activated, any personal information stored in the cell phone may be vulnerable, including your adolescent's contact list.
  • With Global Positioning Systems (GPS) or "social mapping," cell phone users can be located and pinpointed within a few metres, and can tell users where they are located on a map.

For more information visit http://www.mobility.protectchildren.ca

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