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Most parents are drooling over the latest must-have gadgets that promise to make our lives easier and more fun. But is that always what technology brings us? A study indicates that for many cell phone users, the opposite may be true instead, as HAUWA MAHMUD KOLO writes. A three-year old once sent by his aunt to go call someone for her, had reached the door when he suddenly stopped, turned back and asked her, "Where's your phone?" In other words, why disrupt my cartoon watching when you can simply call the person you want with your cell phone? Adults as well as children can readily relate with the convenience a cell phone often provides, making it easE371 Quad Band Tri Cards with Analog TV FM Cell Phone 2.3 inch C9000 Wifi Analog TV Java Dual Cards QWERTY Keyboard Cell Phone(Purple with White) F500 Quad Band Dual Cards Wifi Analog TV Java FM Touch Screen Cell Phone(Black) bulk holsters handgun china mobiles wholesalers The Legend of Zelda Gpad 10 inch Google Android 2.1 3D Games 4GB Gravity Sensor Tablet MID Black with Silver Rim JEEP car dvd player [HL-8632JE] wholesale cards aubervilliers hl-8788gb Refurbished X8 Quad Band Dual Cards Wifi Analog TV Java Leather Touch Screen Multifunction Cell Phone lolita shoes kimfly k9800 quad band quad cards Gpad G08 8 inch Android 2.1 MID 1080P 3D Games 4GB Gravity Sensor Black with Silver Rim nike led watch china H61 Quad Band Tri Sim Cards with Analog TV FM Bluetooth Cell Phone(Black) EPC-7000B 7 inch Win CE 6.0 Support External Keyboard Notebook Pink small sun cree q5 zoom zy c84 XLH E73 Quad Band Tri Sim Cards with Analog TV FM QWERTY Keyboard Cell Phone(Red with Silver) TV E81 Quad Band Dual Card With Analog TV Bluetooth Unlocked Cell Phone Gpad 9.7 inch Google Android 2.2 Multi-touch Capacitive Screen Handwriting&Voice Input 8GB Gravity Sensor Tablet PC High Quality 11 Arabic Numerals Hour Marks&Date Leather Wrist Watch - Black and White Walkie Talkies Changjiang W1210 Quad Band Dual Cards with Wifi Analog TV Java Touch Screen Cell Phone Fashion Accessories sky numen helicopter ier to get things done, without actually having to physically be present to do them, especially as parents spend much more time outside the home these days at work and trying to make ends meet. A study from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, however, indicates that cell phone use may disrupt family life rather than make the running of a home and monitoring the children etc. easier. The study, conducted by assistant professor Noelle Chelsey and published in an issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family, looked at the lives of over 1,300 adults over two years. It found that people who consistently used a mobile phone during the duration of the study were more likely to report increased levels of "spill over" between work and home, which led to decreased satisfaction with family life. Women were more likely to be negatively affected than men by this spill over. Children would call their mothers at work more often than their fathers to report accidents or bad news at home. Men also reported negative reaction to spill over, although it was more likely to be in the reverse direction, with work calls interrupting home life. Women were not immune to reverse spill over, however, and wound up with stress going in both directions. Both genders reported a decrease in satisfaction with family and work life due to these interruptions. The study raises some interesting thoughts about how technology can sometimes amplify gender inequalities rather than equalise them. It also points out that while new technologies seem on the surface to be wholly beneficial, there is always some negative impact that creeps into our lives as well. An article on emotional negligence points out that not communicating with a child directly could affect the child's wellbeing. "A child is emotionally neglected by the parents, often unknowingly, as the parents may not realise that their child needs some extra attention and love. Parents who hardly have any productive time for their kids due to long hours of stressful work, months of travelling for business and work, etc. may make their children feel like aliens even in their own home. It is to be understood that to be loved and cared for is the most basic need of a human and children are no exceptions to this fact. Most times, the material needs of the child are satisfied, but due to the lack of an emotional cushion, child development is hampered. "If the child is not able to share his/her feelings with their parents, it may result in the emotional alienation of the child, it may also cause an emotionally drained situation leading to psychological problems like separation anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, depression and lack of confidence. It's highly probable that they may look out for external sources to satisfy their needs and this may incline them towards company of friends who have a history of drug abuse, alcohol addiction, smoking and similar unhealthy habits." However, there is a positive side to cell phone parenting, as another research has illustrated that cell phones help teenagers feel more independent. According to Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist with the Pew Research Centre Internet and American Life project, in a survey conducted recently, nearly 70 per cent of teenagers said they talked on the phone with their parents at least once a day. Now researchers are starting to zero in on how cell phone use affects the dynamics of the parent-child relationship. A paper published online on Monday in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking suggests that both the nature of the calls and who initiates the calls may affect relations. Robert S. Weisskirch, a professor of human development at California State University in Monterey Bay, asked 196 parent-teenager pairs to tell him how frequently they made different types of calls. The teenagers were asked about 18 different types of situations or circumstances in which they might call parents and to rank them from "never" to "often". The calls fell into two basic categories: "ask and confer" calls, in which teenagers checked in with their parents to ask permission or tell a parent they would be late; and "social support" calls, made when they were upset, wanted advice or wanted to tell a parent they were happy and share some good news. Parents were asked how often they called their children to monitor their whereabouts, track their schoolwork, check in with them and get an update or express anger or dissatisfaction with something the teenager did. It was found that when teenagers called parents frequently to "ask and confer", it was better for their relationship and they were more likely to characterise their parents as supportive and say they were close and communicated well. Parents were gratified by the calls, too; such calls seemed to boost their self-esteem. "What I found generally was that when adolescents are initiating the communication and are seeking out social support and guidance from their parents, then almost across the board they tend to have better reports of getting along with their parents, "Dr. Weisskirch says. Relevant Links West Africa Nigeria ICT Business On the other hand, when parents were initiating calls frequently to monitor their children's whereabouts, track their homework or tell them they were upset, there was more conflict in the relationship, and the teenagers tended to have lower self-esteem. "Ultimately, the phone is just a tool that may augment the relationship, but doesn't substitute for it. What this is making clear is that frequent calls from parents can be negative. That parents who are anxious and worried and constantly calling their child to monitor and ask about schoolwork or argue and try to discipline them, when you try to do the negative parts of parenting over the phone, it doesn't work particularly well," Dr. Weisskirch explains.