[reportgunner]

Kid says this about phones:

1. They’re infantilizing, a set of digital apron strings meant to attach you to your mother. (He was onto something there.)

2. They compromise a boy’s resourcefulness because kids come to rely on the GPS instead of learning Scout skills.

3. They make people trivial.

That's one smart kid.

[EForEndeavour]

The boy didn't say any of these things. The author interpreted them from their son's actions, like using printed maps to get around, and verbally mocking the author with shouts of "texty! emoji!" when he sees her using her phone.

[dahart]

Not to distract from the good point made above that the kid is smart by arguing about the syntax of words of the article, but what makes you certain he didn’t actually put words what his mother implied he said?

The article is not explicit on this point, it does not claim she interpreted them, the article says: “As I learned on his birthday, my son had decided three things about smartphones.“ That wording does imply they may have had a conversation, on his birthday, which is now being summarized. That implication is reinforced with “(He was onto something there)” because it implies he stated an objection to being monitored.

[reportgunner]

I fail to understand why this is relevant. I quoted the text because I agree.

I don't think that the kid is a super genius or that the article is 100% verbatim or even 100% real (there are no articles like that anymore).