“Your life is not like ours is!” Friendships and what parents need to understand

BY MAKAYLA B
11 YEAR OLD

So, during these times a lot of us are calling our friends and we sit there talking for hours until our parents tell us to get off. Right? Or have you been getting really angry and spouting out your anger while talking to them and hurting them when you do that?  COVID-19 has caused people to be really scared and worried, and some people are even really angry and take out their rage on others. Because of COVID-19, many friendships have been stretched thin, while others haven’t changed.

Kids my age are using phones to stay connected with each other. For most 11-year-olds, it’s easy because they have their own phones. So for most kids, calling friends is easy. Just grab your phone, go on whatever app you use to call friends, find their name, and call them. Easy right?

What about those who don’t have their own phones? Well, then you are probably borrowing your mom or dad’s phone and talking to your friends until the phone dies, or you use the home phone.

The best way to stay in touch with friends is through technology. There are a lot of apps you can use to stay in touch with friends like: WhatsApp, Skype, Google Hangouts, Apple Facetime, Line, Viber, Tango, KakaoTalk, WeChat, Oovoo WhatsApp Messenger, Messenger, Kik, Imo, Hike, Maaii, Paltalk, GroupMe, MessageMe, Cubie, Slack, Google Duo, and Zoom I really like: Facetime, Skype, and Whatsapp.

For many kids, their parents probably don’t understand why they’re on the phone for so long. The reason why they don’t understand is simple; when they were kids if they lived in undeveloped countries, then there were probably only one or two phones in their village, and they would have had to pay a lot of money to use it. For example, let’s say you lived in a village in Guyana and there was one phone in your village, it could cost around twenty dollars for a five-minute call.

What about parents who were born in North America? They had phones, but it was not like the phones we have. It was plugged into the wall, and if you wanted to bring it to your room, it would be hard because the cord was short. So you would have to stretch it as far as it would go. If it didn’t reach your room, then you would have to find a private place within reach of the cord. Imagine that!

What parents need to understand is that your life is not like their life was. Sometimes you can’t just walk over to your friend’s house to talk to them, and you have to call them to do so. Sometimes calling them, or playing games like Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft is the only thing you can do if you can’t go and see them. I would love to hear how other kids are communicating with their friends. Let me know!