Grass Valley, CA — 3 days after receiving his new Samsung Galaxy mobile phone, complete with an Otterbox case, 15-year-old Kevin Thomas of Grass Valley, CA somehow managed to crush the touchscreen into oblivion.
“I dunno. I just dropped it.” said a somewhat defiant Kevin Thomas. “It landed on a rock or something and it got cracked. I still works, sorta.”
According to a 2013 Pew Research Center study, 78% of all American teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 have a mobile phone. Of that 78%, 47% have expensive smartphones.
“We knew this would happen,” said a frustrated Craig Thomas, Kevin’s Father. “We liked the idea of Kevin having a mobile phone, but when we arrived at Best Buy, it was only a few more dollars for a smart phone. So we got him a Samsung.”
“It kinda still works. Dad said I had to come up with the $100.00 to get the insurance replacement,” continued Kevin, “But I don’t want to do that.”
Almost all parents are reluctant to give their teenagers expensive technology, but they are often lured into the convenience of being able to get ahold of their children quickly, as well as them being able to track their child’s location using GPS software. However experts tend to agree that “parenting” is better than using expensive technology.
“I just disable the location software when I don’t want them to know where I am,” noted a mouthy Kevin Thomas. “And then I just turn it back on when I’m somewhere they like.”
