Before you buy your teen a cell phone
If someone in your family has a new cell phone on their Christmas list, you might want to get to Santa before he packs his sleigh.
The latest generation of cell phones offers an expanded array of features -- some which may put your teenager at risk. New wireless technology allows users to download digital video content and other material directly from the Internet to wireless handheld devices such as the feature-rich cell phones and iPods.
While cell phones allow parents and their children to communicate more easily at any time of day, the phones are increasingly being used for less-than-wholesome activities, including the transmission and receipt of sexually explicit content.
The Sex and Cell Phones publication warns that every child is at risk -- directly or indirectly -- because of the "sexually explicit content delivered over the Internet by computers and wireless technologies." The booklet notes, "Each day in our nation, young people are victimized by those who seek to steal their innocence and corrupt their minds."
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