[game_the0ry]

I am disappointed that parents allow 13 year olds to have iphones + social media accounts.

The downsides have been well-documented. [1] Can we all collectively get together and say "no" to that stuff until like 18?

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI6rX96oYnY

[jchung]

I have kids who will soon be teens. They don't have phones yet, but I can see the decision looming: my ability to communicate / coordinate with them plus the fact that a huge portion of their social life will migrate online on one hand vs. all of the dangers on the other.

This is why a lot of parents start with smart watches or restricted phones. They try to get the communication / coordination benefits without the online social risks. But that only lasts so long.

I'm not sure how I'll navigate it. Probably not by saying "no to that stuff until 18".

[rsync]

"I'm not sure how I'll navigate it."

I am not going to address the broad set of questions here but I want to point out that two items exist:

1) No-data SIM cards ... they call and text only ...

2) imessage only access point - fairly trivial to set up.

So ... a child can be given a phone - even a smartphone - and it can't be used as a social media device when the family wifi turns off. Further, you can heavily restrict family wifi without curtailing normal phone talking if you have an imessage/facetime only access point.

Again, no magic bullets here but some tools that you might find useful.

[Zelphyr]

I put off letting my kids have a phone until 14. They had tablets before that. If I could have done it all over again, they wouldn't have gotten any kind of device until at least 16. At best they would have gotten a flip phone.

[stawik22]

I totally understand your point and others commenting here. IMHO the main problem are other parents giving their children their "old" phone because they want the latest one.

There is a finite amount of control that you can have, there's always a friend with another phone where they can watch everything.

Communication is the key, we talk a lot with our 11 yo about the danger and pitfalls of social media, electronic games etc. Yes, he has a simple smartwatch (bare minimum: call, location), yet I think we managed to develop a healthy digital hygiene. I wish you best luck!

[nomel]

I'm a strong believer that smart watches cover plenty: music, phone calls, texts, schedule/reminders, and even light reading.

[intrasight]

I'm even more disappointed that parents allow 11-15 year olds to be Instagram "influencers" where 85% of the people being influenced are creepy old men.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/22/us/instagram-child-influe...