Mobile Messages to Children

 

Pediatricians and Public Health doctors spend their careers protecting children form disease and harm. We warn parents to immunize their children and teach them not to talk to strangers. We worry about Internet stalking and urge the parents to monitor Internet usage. Plenty of children have and use cell phones. We urge parents to monitor the advertising form cell phones. Most advertising will be opt-in and www.mmaglobal.com explains that 89% of businesses utilize mobile marketing. The child should not reveal personal information such as address or age.

 

When Warner Brothers produce another episode from Star Wars or Harry Potter, the release could easily be made using mobile messaging technology in addition to online, www.warnerbros.com. Children want to attend the premier event. As long as the parents opt in, the child can receive these promotions. Because of staking, children should not give marketers permission. Also children have trouble discerning fact from advertising.

 

When children are artistic, they might want to try children’s theatre. An opt in list is crucial so that when the mobile messages come in, they are for real rehearsals, practices, and programs. Schools and after school programs will find mobile marketing a big savings of personnel time and resources. Watch dog groups will help maintain integrity of opt in especially for children, www.mobilemarketingwatch.com. Parents need to supervise cellular phone content.

 

Wireless Week explains that 90% of wireless subscribers will accept advertising if the content is free at www.wirelessweek.com.

  This free service puts children at risk of receiving inappropriate advertising message, not just movie releases, practice times, and equipment orders. Adults listen to 3000 messages a day and have learned to tune out marketing messages. Children will learn this skill with school and parental guidance. Of the 200 million cell phone users in America, 55 million are under age 20.  Parents must assist children in discerning the truth of mobile messaging.

 

Medical Mobile Messages

Over 89% of companies market by mobile messages as I read in www.mmaglobal.com. This week I found uses for mobile medical messages. A Public Health Department could message parents with small children that it is time to come in for immunizations. Though all health care providers must comply with HIPPA, there is some information that is not private. The CDC recommends 24 immunizations by the time a child is four. Other immunizations are important for populations at risk such as diabetics and aging, (www.cdc.org.) Mobile messages could be used for follow-up. The day after an immunization, the health department or physician office could text a message, “How are you today? Did you have any problem with the immunization?”

 

A pharmaceutical company such as Wyeth could text message patients who have questions about hormone replacement or immunizations, since this pharmaceutical company supplies both. Following a law suit against Wyeth, 5,000 women claimed that Estrogen Replacement caused them to have breast cancer. Their customer service has been inundated with questions online at www.wyeth.com. Wyeth could send mobile message to answer questions and provide resources.

 

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer came out with Chantix, a prescription medication to stop smoking at www.chantix.com. To assist smokers in this difficult task, they created a GETQUIT Support Plan at www.getqut.com. Because nicotine addiction is one of the most difficult to break, the GETQUIT program would benefit from cellular messaging. Smokers need a lot of support as they start this life altering program to better health.

 

Patients have many health concerns. A doctor’s visit will maintain confidential personal information. Sometimes a patient has a question about a symptom or a medication that a pharmacist or pharmaceutical company could answer. PriCara manufactures Ultram ER and developed a questionnaire called, “Pain, A Hidden Sleep Thief.” They discovered that 20% of adults have pain that disrupts sleep. The company provides brochures, information, and a Web site, www.ultram-er.com. Many questions about pain can be answered by a pharmacist or a pharmaceutical company by mobile messages. Some questions will concern cost or side effects, suitable for cellular messaging.