OnlyPolls on Yik Yak | I feel like a boomer, but even a 13yo with a phone is insane. You are in no way old enough to understand the dangers of a phone at that age.

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OnlyPolls 6w

I feel like a boomer, but even a 13yo with a phone is insane. You are in no way old enough to understand the dangers of a phone at that age.

OnlyPolls 6w

What age did you get a smartphone?

#poll

5-10

11-13

14-16

Older

617 votes

Anonymous 6w

That’s why parents can put restrictions but unfortunately in this day in age, danger isn’t just the strangers behind the screen. Is the weirdos outside as well.

Anonymous 6w

the phone isnt the problem if you're worried about safety, its the absence of the parents, I had unrestricted and unmonitored internet access on a tablet at abt 4 yrs old and Ive been in therapy for cptsd for almost 6 years, kids that young need to be able to communicate with their parents, the phone is necessary, and if you dont want your kid to get bullied (dont get me wrong I love flip phones) it needs to be a smart phone, what actually matters is the parents being involved in the devices use

Anonymous 6w

i got a flip phone when i was like 12-ish but that’s because it was becoming more and more often that I had to call my parents to come pick me up from random peoples phones. I didn’t get a smartphone until I was about 14? (somewhere around there) and that’s just because a hand-me-down from my mom was cheaper than replacing my old flip phone. I still kinda feel like anyone under about 16/17 is still too young to have a smartphone (or really, unsupervised internet access)

Anonymous 6w

By middle school kids should have some sort of phone for safety

Anonymous 6w

That’s why parents are supposed to do their job and monitor their child’s phone use and put restrictions

Anonymous 6w

I got a smartphone at 12 and im a firm believer that that is one of the moments that truly changed my life. Im now chronically addicted to my phone

Anonymous 6w

i got an ipod touch when i was 8

Anonymous 6w

I got one in middle school, was in scouts so parents got me one as emergency call for if I got fucked up on a trip

Anonymous 6w

I mean my parents left me home alone when I was like 5ish 6ish a lot so I needed it for safety and walking home

Anonymous 6w

13 is definitely old enough to use the internet and have a phone. I also had a phone when I was 12 because my parents kept leaving me at school and I had no way of calling anyone.

Anonymous 5w

as someone who’s been on the internet since I was 10, i 100% agree

📺

Anonymous 6w

I got a phone after i unintentionally carried a weapon to school when I was in middle school, At the time my dad used my old bookbag as a travel bag and i got them mixed up. after that i got one

Anonymous 6w

I understand your thinking completely but with all due respect the name of this thread is onlypolls. That means only polls should be posted

-1

Anonymous

#4 6w

To be clear im not saying give a smart phone to a 4 yr old 💀 I mean like late elementary/early middle school, esp if the kid is involved in extracurriculars or sports, a direct line of contact not dependent on anyone else is super important for child safety

Anonymous

#2 6w

That’s exactly what I mean. I support a floater phone that can only call the necessary people, but unrestricted is so dangerous. I’ve seen so many cases of CSAM in my line of work and it’s horrifying. Aside from the horrible predators, much of it stems from children having unrestricted access to the internet and parents who do not monitor who their children are interacting with.

Anonymous

OP 6w

it’s not just that - i also think exposing kids to things like the alt-right pipeline and seeing graphic content (sometimes intentionally, other times it’s something that slipped through the cracks of moderation) or even addictive algorithms like tik tok is altogether just a bad idea. there’s not really much of a need for kids to be using the internet and there aren’t many pros that outweigh the cons

Anonymous

#4 6w

get the kid a smart watch that can call n text but they don’t need portable video games and social media or to be trusted carrying around a piece of technology that costs hundreds of dollars

Anonymous

#9 6w

I know plenty of kids that were responsible enough to be trusted with expensive things, and parents should be managing screen time if the kid is misusing it, yet again problems solved with correct parenting, not at the fault of the device/internet

-3

Anonymous

#4 6w

you can’t parent or manage their influences if they’re away from you. kids don’t have a formed frontal cortex, they lack dopamine seeking impulse control. you cannot expect a child to self regulate when they have an instant dopamine device in their hands, especially if they have friends who want to watch them go on it too

Anonymous

#9 6w

No you cant parent while theyre away from you but proper parental controls DO allow remote access to device permissions and if youre actually parenting correctly at home the kid wont consistently misbehave when theyre away from you, its not foolproof but an active parent limits 90% of problems with kids on the internet, youre also losing grip of the OG post, which is abt safety, phone games and self regulation have nothing to do with it frankly

Anonymous

#9 6w

Id rather my kid spend 20 minutes on a game on their phone than be being groomed by a stranger so yes there is give and take in managing device use, either way, healthy habits need to be built young and now tech is apart of that, keeping the devices away until theyre preteens/teens just means your kids will be ill prepared to form healthy tech habits in later life, screen time, and self control being great examples

Anonymous

#10 6w

this is related to a previously existing poll which is allowed unless cringe

Anonymous

#2 6w

Glad to find someone with similar reasoning!