Seventh-grader Greg Hofmann gave up begging for an iPhone six months ago.
But much to his surprise, the gadget showed up under the Christmas tree — and with it, an 18-rule “contract” with mom Janell Burley Hofmann that has brought the family Internet fame in just a matter of days.
“If you told me I'd be doing all this, getting all this attention. … It makes me laugh,” Burley Hofmann said of the contract's new fame. “I wouldn't think this would be a hot-button issue.”
Burley Hofmann was, at first, immune to Greg's pleas for an iPhone, and told him he'd have to wait until eighth grade.
But in the last few months, Greg “was maturing in a different way than he was six months ago. And technology was becoming a part of his every day,” she said. The mother and son even “follow” each other on the photo-sharing site Instagram.
So she and husband, Adam Hofmann, decided that getting Greg an iPhone now would allow them to begin a conversation about responsible technology use. The couple have five children; Greg is the oldest.
When the holidays rolled around, Greg asked for socks, sneakers and video games. “The phone was way in the back of my mind,” he said.
So he was “shocked” when the phone showed up, he said.
Greg had free rein with the phone on Christmas Day, but the next morning was presented with the contract — which is, Greg and his mother said, much less strict than some media outlets have reported.
“It was more of an open agreement,” he said — and one he thought of as more of an inside joke with mom.
Agreement goes viral
Burley Hofmann posted the contract on her personal website to share with friends and family. Then her editor at the Huffington Post, where she blogs, told her she was onto something big.
“To me, it's a very normal thing to do,” she said. “But my editor was like, 'I think this is gonna catch fire.'”
And catch fire it did.
Just a few days after Christmas, a team from “Good Morning America” was at the Hofmanns' Sandwich home. And from there, the story of the iPhone contract soared in popularity, attracting several television stations, radio shows and websites — with some calling it the “first viral story of 2013.”
Next up, Burley Hofmann said, are likely appearances on “The Steve Harvey Show” out of Chicago and “The Jeff Probst Show” out of Los Angeles.
Success . . . so far
Inevitably, with the coverage has come feedback — lots and lots of feedback, both supportive and extremely negative.
“I was on a radio show in Canada and a caller asked if I also had a set of rules for my husband,” Burley Hofmann said. “I mean, I'm a mom of five. I'm pretty bossy. But if anybody couldn't see the love in it, then they missed the point.”
And so far, if it's any indication that Burley Hofmann's move was the right one for her family, the contract has been a success — Greg hasn't broken any of the 18 rules set out for him.
“At least not yet,” he said.
Cape Cod Times
(c)2013 the Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, Mass.)