19 Oct 2017  |   05:26am IST

Are smart choices as important as smart phones?

With the rising prices of cell phones, Café asks people across areas and age groups how to stay up to date with certain ‘tech trends’, especially given that some of them aren’t exactly in the ‘chump change’ financial region

Fernando Monte da Silva

Some of the recent announcements in the world of phone

technology have been marvels beyond imagination. New features, better design, the whole new ‘cool factor’, and of course, who could forget the price tag. Apple went ahead and unveiled the iPhone 8 and its successor at the exact same time, a little before Google announced its new Pixel 2. However, none of these devices are particularly, well, cheap. It’s fair to equate the cost of some of these new devices with a return holiday to Europe. And in a time when there is a constant need for conformity and keeping up to trends amongst the younger generation, one can’t help but wonder how parents, who are the ones that bear the brunt of funding these ‘acquisitions’, manage to do so.

As a father of two, Siddharth Savkur believes that it all comes down to the values you instil in your children from a young age. “I’d say that you need to bring up your kids without an overemphasis on materialism. Let them understand from an early age that expensive is not necessarily better, or cooler. Teach them to understand that while peer pressure is inevitable, you need to have the self-confidence to hold your own. But this needs to start early. Not when the situation in question comes up. I certainly wouldn’t spend the money just because that’s the ‘cool’ thing to do. Firstly, I’d ask if my kid even needs a phone and at what age. And if she does, then hopefully her upbringing until then will enable her to pick a ‘smart’ phone and not one under peer pressure,” he shares.

However, on campus, life can be trickier than expected. Students are expected to fit in, and at times it comes at a cost. A school-based counsellor, Charlene Farrell shares her observations. “For growing children, one of the most important factors they try to deal with is fitting in. This in itself is extremely draining. When it comes to technology, there is a definite visible yearning for the best. When speaking to children of any age, what is clear is that each one seems to want what the other has. The judgement that children who do not possess the state-of-the-art equipment have to face is another thing they struggle with. Some of them resort to unwanted behaviour to get what they want, like borrowing, stealing from parents and yes, even offering themselves up for ‘services’ to earn a few extra rupees. The psychological impact is tenfold – from low self-esteem, addiction, frustration and anxiety, to depression and even suicidal thoughts and attempts. Sometimes, even those who can afford the best crumble under the pressure of constant upgrades. Our children aren’t learning the value of money thanks to these extravagant ‘gifts’ and that could have far reaching consequences into adulthood,” she points out.

And from the youth perspective, there is clearly a shift that is happening at a fairly rapid pace. Marilyn Pinto, a young professional who hasn’t been out of the academic circle for too long, says, “The soaring price of phones literally makes my stomach cringe! The number of things you could do instead of buying just a phone worth that amount is insane. During my school days (not too long ago), it was a status bump to just have a phone. Now-a-days, it’s probably even your maid who ‘just’ has a phone. Therefore, just because the rich (or rather popular) kids have a certain kind of phone, it becomes a competition to see who has the best one, and it’s parents that have to bear the tantrums (which almost all of us plead guilty to during our naive days) of the kids to keep up their ‘cool footprint’ amongst peers. If you ask me, I’m happy with budget friendly phones which can provide reasonably, if not equally, great cameras and phone speed. Besides, having friends who are techies help you reason out that you aren’t missing out on much. In conclusion: if you feel that you’re missing out because you don’t own an iPhone? A techie friend is your greatest consolation!”

At times, we need to take a step back and take stock of a situation. If this is the course of escalation at such a steady rate, one can’t help but wonder what the future holds. Perhaps the right time to mould the course of kids’ lives is right now, before it’s too late.