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Generation Gap Exists Between Kids, Parents Over Back-to-School Technology

Posted on: Sunday, 14 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

Aug. 15--About this time every year, a debate ensues in many households about buying back-to-school technology. It's the old generation gap, but with a new twist.

Parents want their kids to focus on what they need for schoolwork. The kids want something that's entertaining and cool.

Parents are more likely to approve the gadgets that can make their kids more productive, including computers, cell phones, handheld computers or graphing calculators.

But teens favor technologies that can be used for entertainment or socializing, with music players such as the iPod at the top of the list.

For the kids, technology isn't just a productivity tool. It's a way of expressing themselves. If they're buying a laptop, they're more likely to care about what it looks like on the outside or if it is beefy enough to run the newest computer games.

"There is a huge generation gap on technology," said Kathleen Gasperini, senior vice president at Label Networks, a Los Angeles youth culture marketing intelligence and research company. "A lot of tension can build up. Kids are growing up with electronics in every aspect of their lives, and parents just don't understand that culture."

Parents have the easiest time buying multipurpose devices that satisfy everyone. Just as technology used to be tagged as "dual use" for military or commercial purposes, today gadgets can be viewed as useful for education and entertainment.

PERSONAL COMPUTERS: PCs with broadband connections can be used to research papers on the Internet, write term papers on word processors and run a wide variety of educational software. Tools such as Google are displacing libraries and encyclopedias.

"You start with the educational purpose, but with any technology, teens will find other uses for it than the main one," said Laura Behrens, an analyst at market research firm Gartner. "Almost all of them do things that we never get around to. Even the graphing calculators for math come with their own games, and the kids will discover them."

About 87 percent of teens say they use the Internet, up from 73 percent five years ago, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which recently released a survey of more than 1,000 teens. And 51 percent of teens go online every day, up from 42 percent in 2000. About 88 percent of parents say Internet use helps their teens do better at school.

But parents should be aware that a browser on a computer turns that machine into any kind of device the child wants it to be, said Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies in Waylan, Mass.

"You have to ask the child about the red flags," Kay said. "Do you really need an Alienware (gaming) laptop? Do you really need a Webcam? Do you really need a TV tuner?"

Teens are getting a lot of social mileage out of their PCs, using technologies such as instant messaging to stay in touch with their friends. And roughly 81 percent of teens who go online play games.

CELL PHONES: Like PCs, cell phones keep adding more functions. But in contrast with PCs, cell phones don't have a clear educational purpose. But they're cheap, and it's one way for working parents to stay in touch with kids after school. Some phones are provided free on family calling plans.

About 45 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 have a cell phone, according to Pew. Cell phone envy is hitting kids at younger ages, Gasperini said.

Sometimes the schools make it easier by banning the devices. Many parents come up with different answers when deciding what age is the best match for a new gadget.

"Would I buy a cell phone for my 12-year-old?" asked Stephen Baker, an analyst at PC Data. "No. I should have closer control over my child than that. He really shouldn't be in places where he needs to contact me by cell."

Matt Anderson, a 15-year-old incoming sophomore in Fremont, waited to the ripe old age of 15 to get his first cell phone, a Motorola V188 basic version without a camera. He uses it to stay in touch with his parents when he's riding BART to Berkeley for music class, or when he's just hanging out with friends. He occasionally plays free games on the phone, but doesn't generally send many text messages.

Steven Anderson, Matt's father, said they decided to buy the phone when Matt started going out more on his own with friends. By contrast, Matt's 11-year-old brother doesn't get a phone yet because he's always much closer to a parent.

"I was most interested in my son having a phone for safety reasons," Anderson said. "We thought about a camera phone. But he was very reasonable. We didn't see the need for it."

In general, Anderson said he "avoids the trap of getting the most expensive thing for school." He added, "When he got a graphing calculator, it was after the math teacher sent a note home saying he needed it. We always follow up on a request with our own question. If he needs a GameBoy Advance for chemistry, I'd like to know why."

The Andersons share a laptop but put restrictions on its use. Steven Anderson says he doesn't allow the kids to use the laptop in their bedroom, preferring instead that they use it in the living room. It has security software on it for safe Internet use.

OTHER: The gadgets that clearly focus on entertainment are easily shot down by parents: GameBoy Advances, iPods, digital cameras, video game consoles and PlayStation Portables.

Still, Matt Anderson has an iPod. Even though it can be used to listen to books, lectures and other instructional podcasts, it isn't considered necessary for school.

Tim Chang, a 17-year-old high school student in Palo Alto, got a cell phone a couple of years ago. But he wasn't as successful getting his parents to buy a new graphics card for his PC which he needed to keep up with the increasingly graphics-intensive games he was playing.

"Their response was, 'What was the educational value?'" Tim said. "I wasn't very convincing."

For pure entertainment such as video games or music players, Tim has resigned himself to working part-time jobs in order to buy them with his earned money.

"When it comes to buying games, I have to buy it myself or wait until Christmas or my birthday," he said.

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Source: San Jose Mercury News

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