Mobile internet is child’s play for Gen Y

Seventeen-year-old Aamina Simone is an avid ‘mobile internet’ user. When she bought a high-end phone, she specified that it must be a smartphone which can enable her to access the internet easily. “I access Facebook and Skype often, and find it handy when I have to get some quick information,” says Simone.

Similarly, 16-year-old Elixir Nahar finds accessing the internet on the mobile phone “cool”. Though mobile internet is addictive, she finds it the best way to occupy herself when bored. “Even when it comes to doing my home-work, the system is so convenient. Plus, these days, students have as much need of internet on the phone, as businesspeople do,” she adds.

According to a recent survey conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India on adolescents between 16 and 18 years of age, 66% of high school students carry a cellphone wherever they go. While parents give their children phones to keep track of their children’s whereabouts, youngsters find it helpful to access social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or to simply give in to peer pressure.

However, many parents disagree. “I got a basic phone for my sons to keep in touch with them. It is no fashion statement, just something utilitarian,” says Beena Sondhi, mother of three sons.

Dr Ali Khwaja, chairman of Banjara Academy, says this is an emerging trend among students. “There is no need for children to own a phone, as it gives rise to health hazards and tendencies to other kinds of behaviour. It’s just a vicious cycle,” he says.