How Young Is Too Young for a Mobile Phone?

by Fef Posted 2012/07/03 13:00:00

Related Topics: Cell Phones, School, Privacy, Kids, Phones, Mobile phones, Sexting

1,047 votes
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	Younger than 10 years old	429 votes	41%
	Younger than 13 years old	506 votes	48%
	Younger than 18 years old	112 votes	11%

Parents give their kids mobile phones at very young ages. It seems that each year parents lower the minimum acceptable age for a kid to have one. Some parents give mobile phones with limited capabilities to match the child's needs ("Mom, come pick me up!") instead of his or her wants (sexting?).

Michael Arcand wrote an article on Mashable.com to help parents make this decision and find the right phone. Mashable.com reports:If you're thinking about getting your kid a cell phone, first consider school policy, usage, cost and your child's privacy.

thinking kid cell phone school policy usage cost childs privacy

+43

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Gregory Kramida 2012/07/03 13:08:49

Younger than 18 years old

+9
As much as I'd like to be liberal on this issue, for a kid younger than 13 a mobile phone, especially an expensive one, is little more than a fancy toy and a source of distraction. Moreover, it will tend to get lost, broken, borrowed and never returned.

If you have a phone at an early age, it doesn't in any way reflect your level of maturity. How about reading a good book instead?
>> See Replies

More polls by Fef

♥K14 2012/07/05 10:28:29

Younger than 10 years old

Never too young.

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Skye 2012/07/05 09:39:16

Younger than 10 years old

Though my little sister had one at 9 and it was perfectly fine. She had an android and all she did was text, call, and play games.

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kayla 2012/07/05 08:35:52

Younger than 13 years old

+1
i dont even have one yet ive seen kids in elementary that have cellphones o.o

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Johann 2012/07/05 08:02:22

Younger than 10 years old

I got one when the family wanted to be in contact with each other while in high school. 15+ seems like I good place to start with a cellphone. I only used mine to call for pickup from school if buses were late or I missed getting home from maze in school. I think kids today are getting too spoiled by immature parents afraid of letting the kid go out and play and be themselves.

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Johann to Johann 2012/07/05 08:03:17

I ment to click on younger than 13 years old.

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april 2012/07/05 07:58:01

Younger than 13 years old

+1
I think cellphones without parental control should be given to teens only if they show they can be responsible with them and not use them excessively! If they are misusing them or can't limit their time using the cellphone, I think it should be taken away until they are 18 yrs. old. I understand they have their advantages when it comes to safety and a parent's ability to keep tabs on their kids, but the average person didn't start to get cellphones until I was 21, and I still managed to make it through high school unharmed, lol! All these devices are taking away from so many enriching hobbies (reading books for example) that I enjoyed as a teen...so many of today's teens don't know what they're missing because they're to busy spending every second on their phone texting people. Just recently I asked my 16 yr old neighbor if she likes to read and she said " Only when I am instant messaging." That's pretty sad!

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Samar M... to april 2012/07/05 10:05:11 (edited)

+2
I don't wanna break your opinion or something, I don't usually reply but i got tempted to reply when you said (reading books for example) some teenagers and pre-teenagers use phones for education for some examples:-
blackberry:- i'm a pre-teenager and when I got a blackberry I used it mostly not for bbm i wasn't even interested in that but i was learning the spanish language!

Iphone:- my mom has one and when she figured out in a way i love books she opened her Iphone right away and we started read a book. the best part is that you just read no payments and thats a good thing since a lot of people use Iphone now a days!!

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april to Samar M... 2012/07/05 10:11:53

+1
I'm glad you replied...I guess I have only witnessed the mostly negative effects of teenage cell phone use...It's nice to know there are more pre-teens/teenagers than I realized that still like to read, and use their cellphones for productive reasons...now you are making me want an iphone to read on, lol!

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tobe to Samar M... 2012/07/05 13:49:52 (edited)

ya know they do have these. they are totally harmless. i promise you. I've been using them since i was old enough to get a library card and they have them in every county. your parents don't have to pay hard earned money for it.

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Samar M... to tobe 2012/07/25 20:29:18

kids may not have money to buy books, they may not even have time to go books shopping. thats why ebooks through phone is always a choice to consider.

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tobe to Samar M... 2012/07/25 22:47:26

the public library is free, so are school libraries. kids got just as much time as they had when i was a kid. i know that because i have a teenage cousin.

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Samar M... to tobe 2012/07/31 14:31:47

even at nights? dont tell me all kids go to libraries at night! because if they feel like reading a book any time at twenty-four seven they can! and I mean on phones!!!! :)

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emilychung 2012/07/05 07:52:04 (edited)
Derbyhat 2012/07/05 07:42:29

Younger than 13 years old

+1
Under thirteen, most will get lost or damaged. Under 18 cut in to social development for the age groups that knows everything. If they are going to text and drive, I'd say 99, even if they get it from a parent.

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SHORTY98 2012/07/05 06:27:38

Younger than 13 years old

+1
I'm 13. I don't really play with my phone, just hear music and text. I have it cuz i gotta ride the bus so my mom has to keep track on me. My mom tells me i have it cuz she needs me to have it (shes over-protective). So it wasn't my choice and itz not even an expensive one

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C4TSMILEY 2012/07/05 06:13:19

Younger than 10 years old

I still wouldn't give an iPhone to an 18 year old, though. I mean, seriously. I dropped my first phone God knows how many times... good thing it was just a black rectangle with buttons!

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Ashlynne <3 (; 2012/07/05 05:22:51

Younger than 13 years old

+1
Honestly.

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zcberry 2012/07/05 03:40:36

Younger than 13 years old

+2
Until they are able to pay their own bill.....LOL!!!!!

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Tyasia Thomas 2012/07/05 03:33:00

Younger than 13 years old

+1
You honestly don't need one until high school cuz everywhere u go as a kid ur parent is there most the time unless u got a serious medical condition

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serethiel 2012/07/05 01:45:50

Younger than 10 years old

i feel like wasting (and it is wasting) money on a phone that will probably be broken within the year is so frustrating. i want to tell parents not to bother with expensive models until the child's at least 15, but that being said, some need an easy way to contact parents, so it's a very individual thing to decide and not in my control. this is my take on it, anyway.

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Skye to serethiel 2012/07/05 09:43:14

My little sister got one at 9 and it broke be some bully took her backpack and threw it and her phone flew out. She kept it longer than my 15 year old sister. I still have mine. It's been a while. I'm 13. I have an expensive model and so do both my sisters.

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serethiel to Skye 2012/07/06 01:29:46

+1
oh, that sucks about your little sister. i did mention that it's an individual thing to decide, depending on circumstances, and (in your case) the maturity of the child. some kids (me when i was younger) just can't keep things nice for very long.

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whimsycrat 2012/07/05 01:45:48

Younger than 13 years old

+3
I think 13 is an appropriate age for a basic cell phone; if limits are set for it's usage. A cell phone isn't just a toy for the kids but a useful tool for parents to keep and eye and keep tabs on their kids at an age when kids are starting to assert their independence and venture out on their own.

And as Man Bear Pig points out, it can also depend on individual circumstances. A friend of mine raised 4 children in Manhattan and she got her kids cell phones, I think, when they were 11 or 12. New York is a big, crazy, complicated and sometimes dangerous city and she liked knowing that her kids could get in touch with her and she could get in touch with them anytime.

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Skye to whimsycrat 2012/07/05 09:44:24

+1
I'm 13 with an expensive model. I don't look at it like a "toy"...

How immature do you think we are?!

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cnsharp 2012/07/05 01:01:37

Younger than 10 years old

When you are old enough to where you are going out on your own or spending time at a friends house when the parents are gone then I feel you should get some sort of phone. Does it need to have a camera, internet, and unlimited texting? Heck no, but I feel like they do need a way to reach a parent or friend encase they get separated or something happens. A prepaid from Walmart will do just fine.

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tobe to cnsharp 2012/07/05 14:04:21

in my day you didn't stay at a friends house if there wasn't parental supervision. if my mom didn't have the phone number of where i was going, i didn't go unless it was me riding my bike down the street.

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cnsharp to tobe 2012/07/07 01:30:16

yea but now a days you have kids being dropped off or just telling their parents one thing and then going and doing another.

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tobe to cnsharp 2012/07/07 01:46:40

parents have gotten lazy

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cnsharp to tobe 2012/07/07 01:53:39

They really have. So the phone is good for the kid (encase of an emergency) and for the parent (so they can just call to check in with the kid).

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tobe to cnsharp 2012/07/07 02:51:00

i think its funny to see a kid with no responsibility and no job walking around with a decked out smart phone with text messenger, internet and a camera on the back. thats the majority of the ones i see. i had a pager when i was 16. if i didn't call back directly or i got caught lying about where i was i wasn't let back out. i worry about what kind of people these kids are gonna be when they grow up.

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cnsharp to tobe 2012/07/08 19:58:56

I was given a cheapy little prepaid from Walmart when I was 10 cause I was going to gone for 10 days on a trip with my church. All it did was make calls and I used that so my mom could check in on me at the end of the day and make sure I was ok.

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tobe to cnsharp 2012/07/08 20:00:54

+1
now that makes sense.

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Casey Melefsky 2012/07/04 22:51:26

Younger than 13 years old

+2
little kids should be playing out side or reading books and they dont need a cell phone to do either of those. and yes i may be young but the only reason i got a phone at a young age was because i was being left at soccer practice and needed a way to call for a ride.

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Man_Bear_Pig 2012/07/04 22:24:56

Younger than 13 years old

+3
It also depends on the individual situation.

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Brittany Foxx 2012/07/04 22:23:10

Younger than 10 years old

If I'm not gonna let my kid wander around a store by themselves, they don't need a phone yet.

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Munster 2012/07/04 22:14:54

Younger than 18 years old

+1
I think the appropriate age for a cell phone would probably be 16-17, younger than that and it would be unnecessary. It's an extra expense, especially if it gets lost, stolen, or broken.

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Skye to Munster 2012/07/05 09:46:38 (edited)

Me (13), little sister (10) and big sister (15) all have phones. It's been awhile now. Had mine since 12 and little sister had hers since 9. None are lost, stolen, or broken. It's maturity NOT age.

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Munster to Skye 2012/07/05 20:24:07

Hmm, well I said nothing about age or maturity, I said it's an extra expense especially if it does get lost or stolen. It's nice that you and your sisters have phones, but if I had kids they wouldn't be getting phones until they were older. I didn't have a phone at 13 years old and I didn't need one at that age either. If your parents are extremely worried about you I could see why they would get you a pre-paid phone with minutes for emergencies, but not smartphones and such. That's just too much for someone so young.

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Skye to Munster 2012/07/05 21:06:07

Not these days. No one needs a smartphone, though. They just do. Adults can get there phones lost and stolen.

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Munster to Skye 2012/07/05 22:04:08

I suppose someone with a business or job would need a smartphone depending on their career of course. As for adults losing, breaking or having them stolen, indeed. I, myself, have broken a few of the phones I've had. I also paid for them and pay for the bill. My point is, there expensive, especially with all the bells and whistles and teens under the age of 16-17 have no way of paying for them. If their parents want to, that's their decision. My decision would be, if you can't pay for it yourself, you really don't need it. Like I said, I might give them a pre-paid phone with the cheapest minutes for emergencies but that's about it.

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