The world today is characterized by changing technology which has enabled gadgets such as cell phones to become accessible even to the young children and also teenagers. As all the other forms of technology, cell phones also have their benefits and limitations.
In this scene the beneficiary is the kid. Just like her peers, the kid will be able to access the benefits they accrue from owning a cell phone. The child will be able to communicate with her parents, grandfather and also to her friends since she seems to think that having a phone will improve her social life and give her a sense of belonging. The motive of the child is to fit in with the rest of the kids by having a cell phone.
The parent is the decision maker .She is also the consumer and most consumers purchase goods because of their utilitarian and non- utilitarian advantages which emerge from the advantages that arises from the consumption of the products bought. This acts as a motivation to buy. In this scene the advantages will be the ability of the cell phone to facilitate communication and to satisfy the child’s desire of owning a cell phone. The decision process and the act by which people involve in buying is known as consumer behavior.
This behavior can be influenced by the changes in the society. In this case it is normal for children who are mostly above seven year to own cell phones as opposed to past trends whereby cell phones were owned by adults.
There are steps undertaken by the decision maker when deciding on whether to purchase a product. One is product recognition whereby the decision maker has to become aware of the needs which in this scene is the need for the daughter to have a cell phone. Informational search is also another step. It can be derived from both external sources and internal sources. It is followed by evaluating the alternatives which is necessary so as to be specific about ones choice.
Purchase decision is the point where one comes to the final decision and chooses one product from the other alternatives available. The final step is the post-purchase evaluation in which you get the result from the purchase. The motive is to provide the child with a cell phone.
The other players in this scene are the facilitators who happen to be the girl’s peers. The fact that the other kids have the cell phones has put pressure on the child to also want a cell phone. She feels left out and thinks that she will have more friends if she were to get a cell phone of her own. The child succumbs to peer pressure.
The accommodator is the cell phone provider and also the service provider who make it possible for the child to have access to the cell phone and use it. Their motive is to make profit.
Whether or not to buy the child cell phone is the main query. The parent should buy the child a cell phone. Although it has its limitations, the benefits accrued such as communication whereby the child can call incase of an emergency and the parent can always know where their child is by texting or calling them are significant. Also by buying the child the cell phone it bestows the child with responsibility which she gets to learn at an early age ( Wiedemann and Schutz, 2011)..
Reference
Wiedemann, P. and Schutz, H. (2011). Children's health and RF EMF exposure: Views from a risk assessment and risk communication perspective. Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift, 161(9), 226-232.
