Mobile Phones: Benefits, Safety Guidelines, and Practical Tips for Children and Parents

What are the benefits of using mobile phones?
Mobile communication devices can offer freedom and independence and are an excellent way for young people to communicate with friends. As the technology improves, they are increasingly becoming a good source of entertainment. They provide important safety benefits too, enabling a young person to make contact and be contacted; they can also act as a location finder for emergency services.

What are the risks when using mobile phones?
-Contact: some children have been sexually harassed after contact through mobile phone, and bullying via the mobile phone is common. Children are often reluctant to discuss such problems.

-Theft: expensive mobile handsets are often stolen, and children may be mugged or physically attacked for their handsets.

-Spam: Most children with mobile phones have received some form of SMS spam. Some of these services are charged at a premium rate (i.e. a surcharge) and may be difficult to stop.

- Photographs and videos: many mobile phones now include cameras. Photos and videos are often taken without permission and forwarded to friends or websites (see below).

-Supervision: children normally use mobile phones when they are alone, so it is much more difficult for parents to monitor

-Advertising and sales pressure: children may receive advertising content via SMS, and some services for children allow them to pay for goods using their phone credit.

-Health issues: evidence is inconclusive, but some people fear that prolonged use of mobile phones may give rise to health concerns (see below).

Are mobile phones a threat for my health?
According to what we know today, reasonable limits on mobile phone use protect against health problems. But: Nobody can fully prove that anything is totally harmless.

Here you can find some tips to be on the safe side. These tips are especially important for children. As their bodies are still developing, they may react more sensitively.

• Use your mobile phone only for short calls.
• Avoid using your mobile phone if there is only a weak signal because, in this case, your mobile increases transmitting power and radiation. The display of your mobile shows the strength of the signal.
• Use head-sets.
• When you send SMS or MMS don’t hold the mobile phone near your head.
• When you establish a mobile phone connection, transmitting power is at its highest. Therefore don’t lift your mobile to your ear until the person at the other end has picked up the phone. A new connection is also established when your mobile phone changes the radio cell. This happens quite often when you are travelling in a car.

What do I have to take into account when using a mobile phone camera?
When publishing pictures and videos, be aware of the following aspects:
·  Pay attention to copyright. This is especially important if pictures show people in what could be deemed as an inappropriate context. In order to avoid copyright problems: If you want to take pictures of other people, ask for their approval first. National awareness nodes will provide you with detailed information about respective copyright laws.
·  Privacy: You do not have control of pictures that you have distributed with your mobile phone. Pictures published on the web can be viewed worldwide by everybody. Think about potential consequences, e.g. pictures make it easier to identify you in the real world and you might not want to be seen in certain contexts by everybody.
·  Once pictures are published on the web, they may be stored forever, also in contexts other than those originally intended. Be aware that some pictures should not be seen e.g. by a future employer. Ask yourself if you could feel embarrassed about them at a later point of time.

What are the most important tips against bullying and grooming through mobile phones (see also section “Bullying”)?

Tips for children:

• Ethical behaviour is important on mobile phones too – bullying is not acceptable!
• Preventive measures: Do not publish sensitive personal information
• Save the evidence
• Ignore the cyberbully. Try switching off the phone sometimes. The bully might get bored.
• Leave your name off the voicemail message, so bullies won’t be certain who it is they are calling
• Talk to your parents, teacher or a trustworthy person, do not suffer alone
• Remember, do not reply to the text or message, and show it to an adult.

Tips for parents:

• Discuss ethical behaviour on the mobile phone with your child.
• Discuss cyberbullying with your child.
• Be aware of signs that your child is a target of cyberbullying (e.g., emotional upset; avoidance of friends, school, activities; decline in grades, subtle comments that reflect disturbed online or offline relationships).
• Do not restrict mobile phone use as a reaction to cyberbullying, because then children may not tell you if they are bullied.
• Contact a school counsellor, the cyberbully’s parents, the phone company or, if cyberbullying appears to be a crime, contact the police.
• Change your child’s mobile phone number (but only as a last resort).

More information

When calling an emergency number give a clear and exact report:
·  What happened?
·  When did it happen?
·  Where did it happen?
·  How many people are injured?
·  Who is calling?