You can be in touch with your children, and know their whereabouts. (The Pew study noted that 48 percent of parents use the phone to monitor their child's location.) Your kids can reach you in the event of an emergency, and vice versa. If in danger, your children can reach the authorities or a medical provider. Phones can be silenced during class or study periods, and active only in appropriate places. Cell phones create a convenience that was previously unavailable. With cell phones, you can easily reach your kids for any reason: to ask them questions, change plans, or to simply say hello.
Students often forget to turn off their phones in class, and ringing noises or text-message alerts disrupt learning. Even if set to silent, cell phones can still cause distraction, since text messaging has become a high-tech method of passing notes in school. In the event of a widespread crisis, rampant cell phone use can overload communication systems and render them inoperable. Student cell phone networks add to the spread of rumors and misinformation, which can be harmful during a widespread crisis. Mobile phones with a connection to the Internet (therefore, Facebook and Twitter) can be even more of a...