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A cell phone for Halloween?
October 21, 2008

Today, I received a press release calling for every child to have a cell phone (and know how to use it) on Halloween. The release, issued by 411onwireless.org, warns that even with sufficient supervision, children can get separated from their groups and run into danger such as cars, candles, and falls. I would add predators and people who had too much to drink to that list. Remember, Halloween is on a Friday night this year.

According to the release:
David Aylward, director and founder, COMCARE Emergency Response Alliance, said: “No child should go out unaccompanied by a responsible adult on Halloween. But even when that common-sense rule is observed, it is still possible for children to become separated from a group, lost, suffer an injury or even become involved in, or see, a pedestrian accident without an adult close by In such cases, it is vitally important for a child to be able to contact a parent or 9-1-1 emergency personnel. That is where a prepaid or other cell phone can really make a difference.”

Do you think that giving every child a cell phone will just give parents a false sense of security, making them less vigilant? I say yes. Or is this a ploy by the cell phone industry to open a new market for their wares? What do you say?

Posted by Martin Rowe on October 21, 2008 | Comments (1)