Thoughts about what is appropriate for a particular age permeate many facets of life, from the way we teach children in classrooms to the technologies we use. While the fashion industry understands this important concept, the IT industry is only now coming to grips with it.

Since hairless, bipedal apes first started measuring things, age -- the chronological measurement of how old we are -- has been the 'berbenchmark for mankind. Every year of our lives carries expectations regarding what we are supposed to accomplish, milestones we are expected to reach, information we are supposed to know and skills we ought to master.

Milestones have even been legislated, with lawmakers establishing a draft age (an age when it is appropriate to go to war), a voting age, a drinking age and a driving age. Insurers look at the driving records of those who have reached and surpassed the driving age and fix their rates accordingly, with the youngest drivers paying the largest premiums.

Also weighing in on what is age- appropriate, the American Academy of Pediatrics once told us that children under 2 should not watch TV at all and that older children should watch no more than two hours a day.

But who monitors society's expectations regarding technology ownership and use? A game of Chutes and Ladders might be labeled as appropriate for ages 4 to 7, but vendors don't do that for cell phones, instant messaging clients or search engines.