The cell phone industry long ago merged with the computer industry and the television and entertainment industry is not far behind. Software applications are being developed at an ever increasing pace to run on all of our cell phones that do everything from weather forecasts to grocery lists to navigation to games. The challenge now is to deliver functional applications that improve our access to information, our ability to accomplish tasks more efficiently or better, and ultimately, to make our lives better. "Better" is a relative term that has a wide range to most adults depending on whether their teenager's cell phone is constantly chiming with irreverent text messages during dinner or if they are trying to meet at a spot to pick them up after the high school football game. It is not the app that is bad, it is how the app is used that can make it annoying or a "can't live without it" sort of thing.
Most parents today have provided their children with a cell phone so they can call them and keep in contact with them. According to the MacArthur Foundation Exploring Digital Media and Learning report in March 2011, "Mobile device ownership among children ages 4-14 has experienced double-digit growth since 2005 and almost all children in the U.S. have access to a mobile device, with 93 percent of 6-9 year olds living in a home with a cell phone." In the past, parents would never have provided a laptop to their children, but now, with the advent of the cell phone, a child is provided a computer with a small screen, a keyboard sized to type with two thumbs, and a phone, too. If you were to re-phrase the findings from the report, 93% of children today are likely to have a computer in their pocket at any time.
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