From telegrams to iPhones, the rate at which phone technology is rapidly developing can be almost mind-numbing.  But more than the how the phones themselves are being used, just exactly who is using them is just as staggering.

More and more it seems that younger children are sporting the newest gadgets, the sleekest models, and the most wallet disintegrating technology available.   Don’t agree?  Next time you find yourself in a mall or on the street, take a moment to look up from your own barrage of emails and you will see this phenomenon.  In fact, just over this Memorial Day weekend, a friend’s 11 year old son sharply informed me that a Blackberry is for kids: “Why would an adult need that?”  I guess I am just behind the times as I grew up thinking a Blackberry was used to help business-minded individuals get emails outside the office.

But is this so bad?  Many parents believe that cell phones are a safety necessity in this increasingly dangerous world and allow them to keep track of the children’s whereabouts. 

What do you think? Have kids today become overly dependent on technology?  Must they have the newest models of phones?  Does a touch screen somehow offer a safer alternative than an “old” flip-phone?