If the education establishment is true to its form of the past ten years it is likely to view this morning’s New York Times story here about the migration of pornography into cell phones as bad news. But here are a couple of things to think about:
First, the story includes the fact that the cell phone industry is developing ratings like movies have. That will surely lead to being able to give little kids phones with the hard core stuff blocked.
Second, and more important is WHY the cell phone industry is making its move: the cell phone screens are bigger, have better color and more easily access the Internet. One expert in the article says: “[The cell phone] has every component that has proven conducive to the consumption of adult entertainment – privacy, easy access, and, on top of it, mobility. . .” The good news is that these same improvements are making Internet learning assets more accessible and easier to use. The knowledge consumption industry followed the porn guys into the Internet back in the 1990s. This time let’s get the reading, writing, arithmetic, algebra, chemistry and history on the phones ahead of the dirty pictures. Doing that would be very good news.
(And don’t tell me “privacy” of the phones is a problem. Until we trust the kids they will never learn.)
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