On Monday, April 27, 2015 at 11:52:12 AM UTC-4, Stephen Sprunk wrote:
 
> _I_ had a mobile phone in high school.  I couldn't afford to use it much
> at first since my only job was mowing lawns, but it bought me a lot more
> freedom than my older siblings had since my parents could reach me at
> any time.  I didn't have to ask for permission to go places, check in
> every couple hours to see if plans changed, give them all my friends'
> home numbers in case of emergency, etc.  That's why so many parents
> bought phones for their kids as soon as it became economical.

We grew up before cell phones, but we also did not have to check in every few
hours or provide contact numbers.  Our parents accepted a certain degree of
autonomy as we grew older.  They figured in case of emergency--which was very
unlikely--we'd be able 
to find a payphone or use someone's phone.

Today I noticed parents constantly checking in on their kids, which seems
strange to me.  Indeed, a few years ago some cell phone carriers offered
parents a way to track their kids' whereabouts through GPS, a concept I found
rather disturbing.

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