[dustyleary]

What about a legally emancipated 17 year old?

What about a 16 year old born in a country where the age of consent is 14 and the US’s views on sexuality are considered overbearing and puritanical?

[thereare5lights]

Then those people can be exposed to all the suicide, pedophiles, and other negative influences as much as they want.

[gaius]

Honestly, I’m expecting someone to argue that kids should be allowed to smoke crack because muh independence in a minute... you notice no one has provided a coherent reason they should have smartphones...

[girvo]

I’m not agreeing with this; but the main reason I can see is that not having one when every other kid you know does will cause some issues in your peer groups. I’d expect to be mocked for it, myself. But then I’m biased: I had a smartphone that I researched, purchase, carrier unlocked and then turned into a “global” firmware from 2005, when I was 15! Having a computer in my pocket when no one else did was awesome, heh.