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Do teenagers really need mobiles?

Amanda Collins
Ballincollig CS, Cork

The thing you will hear all teenagers asking for these days is a mobile phone. Before it was just adults who needed them for their job but now you see them everywhere you go. If you don't have a mobile phone you feel left out. Teenagers are buying phones to look cool. Parents are forking out over a £100 for these. Parents like to check up on their children and they feel better knowing that, if their children are in trouble, they can ring home. Most teenagers only get phones so that they can send text messages. This is a cheap way to talk to people. Children as young as ten are getting phones but why do they need them? There is also the problem of credit. Teenagers who work are able to buy credit themselves but others get their parents to pay for theirs. This can often be very expensive. I followed the crowd and got a mobile phone but to be honest I don't really need one. I can ring my friends from home and when I go out I rarely need to ring home.

The most popular mobile phones today can get their covers changed. Teenagers go out and buy different covers which can cost a lot just so they can show off in front of their friends. They are also going for the most expensive phones on the market so they can say that their phone cost more. I really don't know what the big deal is. If you don't have a phone don't worry. You are not missing out on anything. It's my opinion that teenagers don't need mobile phones. There are plenty of pay phones around that they can use. That said, I have a phone that I wouldn't give up just because my friends have phones and I don't want to be left out!

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