I remember when I was young and the first Nintendo system came out. We were so excited but
had no idea that it was just the beginning of a long trend that would get more and more
advanced. The electronics industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and
encompasses a lot of area, everything from gaming systems, to mp3 players, to fancy calculators
that do all our figuring for use. There's such a wide range of electronics available that it's hard to
know what's out there and what's going to interest our children.
The biggest trend in electronics is cell phones and pretty much every teen and even some
preteens want them. Far from the big bulky phones of my youth today's cell phones have a
compact design and a wealth of different features. The teens of today use their phones not just
for talking to each other but also for texting, checking email, taking pictures, listening to music,
and watching videos. They are only limited by how much they want to invest in a phone as cell
companies rush to put out phones with new features to attract more teens and preteens. At the
same time service carriers are rolling out plans that are specifically designed with the younger
user in mind. Cell phones have also become a fashion accessory as there are a variety of charms
to decorate them with and even designer cell holders to carry them in.
The next big trend is mp3 players. The convenience of being bale to store music and take it with
them is very appealing to teens. The amount of music that can be carried all depends on the
storage size of the player and they come in wide range of sizes to meet the tastes of the market.
All of this in size that in most cases is small enough to carry in a pocket or in a purse. There's
even a market for mp3 accessories that has everything from decoration to carrying cases.
Various speakers of all sorts of shapes, sizes and volume are available for those who don't wish
to use a headset to listen to their music. When it comes to headsets there's also a wide variety of
options to choose from and your teen is only limited by there personal taste when it comes to
mp3 accessories.
Of course portable games are still very big with the teen and preteen crowd and that doesn't
seem to be decreasing in the least. Today's teens are on the on the go and want to be able to take
their games with them when they go places. Add in the fact that some games systems also play
video and you have an all around entertainment device that a teen can carry with them. Of course
in spirit of customization and personalization there are many accessories to go with these gaming
devices. In addition to the multitude of colors that they already come in there are decals to
decorate them and a multitude of cases to carry them in. All of which allow for a very personal
gaming experience.
It's important to remember that while we may not always agree with it these items have become
an everyday part of our children's lives. The age for a first cell phone seems to get younger and
younger every year and while this may not seem necessary at first it has practical applications
also. A child carrying a cell phone always has a way to contact someone in the case of an
emergency and is much easier to make contact with when they are away from home. Some
phones even have a GPS feature that allows a parent to check the location of the phone and see if
their child is where they are supposed to be. Electronic games and mp3 players provide
entertainment on long bus rides and give our children something to do other than get in trouble.
These electronics have their place in our children's daily lives as long as we take the time to
teach them when and where they are appropriate to be used.