Cell Phones, Pagers and Halloween Candy at Target

I was at Target this morning, shopping for a wedding gift for a fellow friend of mine, when I overheard the following conversation between a mother and her eight-year-old son:

“Mom, I really need a cell phone.”

“Son, you know you can’t get a cell phone until you’re 13.”

“Ugh, I know, Mom. Will I get my own personal computer then too?”

“We’ll see.”

Obviously, my first thought was, “what a spoiled little brat!” (Granted, I was shopping at the "good part of town" Target). But then I thought about it. Yes, I didn’t get my own cell phone and computer until I went to college (after much begging and paying for the majority of both items myself), but God, how things have changed in seven years to where this conversation is somewhat of a commonplace.

As I’m walking towards the Halloween candy from electronics (seasonal section where the Christmas stuff usually is, or back-to-school items, Easter, Valentine’s Day, etc.), I’m wondering if a cell phone will be listed on my own child’s kindergarten school supply list. (Doing the math, that ends up being about seven or eight years from now, so that time table is somewhat realistic.)

The whole thing reminds me of when pagers were da’ bomb in middle school (might as well throw in some 1995 terminology to describe this). Those got banned from school because you were deemed a drug dealer, which was kind of funny. Gosh, I wanted one so bad too, even though I still don’t quite understand its point.

So, your mom pages you because she wants to know where you are. But what if you’re at Celebration Station or something (another 1995, Mesquite, Texas reference) and you can’t get to a phone? Seriously, what is the point? Cell phones are so much more ingenious really. Especially with the GPS technology built into practically every phone where you (or the government) can monitor your kid’s (innocent citizens’) every move without them realizing it. Sidebar: I'm reading this book Justin has called 60 Greatest Conspiracy Theories of All Time. It's awesome and at some point I'll blog about it.

So, that’s just my random thoughts for a Sunday afternoon and a look into my mind on just how quickly it processes information and seemingly goes off subject. I was already done thinking about all of this and I hadn’t even gotten to the linens section yet. (hope I didn’t give away what I got you, SPFL)