In the eyes of a teenage girl cellular phones are the best invention since boys. My daughter has had a cell phone for awhile now but it wasy a prepaid one. That was getting too costly considering she ran through minutes at an astounding rate. The day she received her unlimited flip phone she was estatic. I don't think she would have been any happier if she had been presented with a brand new car.

She giggled and squealed with excitement. The pink face plate with kittens on it absolutely delighted her. I calculated her enthusiasm to be a bit ridiculous but cell phones seem to have an almost intoxicating effect on young girls. After plenty of gushing gratitude, my joyful daughter seemed to float on various ring tones the rest of the day. In record time all of her friends had the new phone number and the dialing sequence began - and it hasn't stopped since.

These cellular providers certainly have it made. Do you have any idea how many adolescent and teenage girls there are in the world - not to mention the other various cell phone users out there? Just like teen girls, cell phones come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You find them everywhere - in shirt pockets, on belt loops, in cars, at the mall, etc.

Time certainly does bring about change. It almost seems like yesterday when my oldest son came home with a marvelous little contraption called a pager. Hmmm...wonder whatever happened to those. It seems technology is moving faster or maybe I'm just getting slower. I just got used to my VCR when out came the DVD. I still haven't figured out all the features of the digital camera yet. Of course when I can't figure out how to work my new gadgets I do what most parents do, I just ask the kids. It seems they're born with built in knowledge of the tech gen.

Oh and my daughter? She's up to her ears in text messages and voice mail but it's all good - at least until the bill arrives.

Darlene Zagata is a freelance writer and columnist for the print publication Moon Shadows Magazine. She is also the author of "Aftertaste: A Collection of Poems" and "The Choosing." Her work has been published extensively both online and in print. For more information visit her website at http://darlenezagata.tripod.com or contact Darlene at darzagata@yahoo.com