Should children have iPhones?

[Alienfish]

I'd give them a cheap Android phone that lets them play games and browse Youtube, and maybe one with a good camera so they can take pictures. I wouldn't give them iPhones because giving expensive stuff when they're still young would make them think they deserve having expensive things without working for it.

Yeah they are insanely overpriced for nothing...But I guess most people actually giving phones to their kids or have many in one family gets those deals that lets you pay per month for the phone and whatever subscription type you have.

And yea as for actually giving them a phone, I'd just give them some old thing with buttons if they are not too old so they can call and text you know.

 

[TheGreatBrain]

My teenage daughter has a flip phone. She uses her tablet ( that she bought ) when she wants to go online. My son had to buy his own phone when he was a teen. If my daughter wants a smart phone, then she needs to get a job and buy it herself. I like my kids to earn those kinds of things.

 

[Zerous]

No. Just no.

- - - Post Merge - - -

I got my 1st phone when I was 12 and went into my 1st year of High school so my mum could communicate with me. It was an old Samsung. I still have it and I love it.

 

[Cosmic Gerbil]

Maybe I am just old but I don't see why little kids would want an iPhone. I would have cried if I'd have got a phone as a present when I was a kid. I'd much rather have had a toy or comic book.

My great nephew has an iPad and he plays games on it. I had my first computer at 6 and I seem to remember...playing games on it xD

 

[Cudon]

No, regular phones are okay when they're like 9-10 or something but imo giving them a smartphone is a bit too much.

And by giving them something that expensive you're kind of spoiling them too. They learn to think that it's 100% okay to constantly buy a new phone, since chances are they'll constantly break it esp at a young age. And it's very possible they'll eventually go ''oh so a phone is 500 bux therefore spending 500 bux overall is ok''

Also you're basically encouraging them to get addicted to it. I started using my own laptop regularly at about age 9 and that really contributed to my addiction. And these addictions do cause problems. I know of teens who have issues with the joints in their hands cuz of typing too much on their phone. And I personally grew up to have a better vocabulary in English than in my own language cuz of the internet, which has caused me some issues. It's also prob contributed to my social problems too. I grew up to be an antisocial **** who has issues communicating with others in Finnish on a basic ****ing level.

 

[Mega_Cabbage]

No. You should probably get them something that is cheap, durable, and not likely to get stolen as their first phone so you can monitor how well they take care if it. If they lose it or break it, don't buy them another one. Let them pay for the new one themselves.

 

[f11]

Yes they should have phones the type doesn't really matter. It's more of a safety thing really.

 

[Acruoxil]

iPhones are expensive man, I wouldn't give them one. Unless I want it to end up down the toilet 2 days later.

At most I'd give them an Android with the basic game apps and no SIM so that they don't end up calling someone they are not supposed to.

 

[piichinu]

why is literally every single person concerned about the price of it or the kids turning out spoiled...does no one realize or care about how harmful technology can be to kids in their earliest developmental stages??

 

[Alienfish]

why is literally every single person concerned about the price of it or the kids turning out spoiled...does no one realize or care about how harmful technology can be to kids in their earliest developmental stages??

trust me i have noticed. my youngest cousins got some sort of pad at very young age and they probably know too much about handling those.

as in my case we grew up with computers and such but i didn't get my first phone until I was 10-11 and then it was one of those brick phones with antennas lol.

i can point out however you shouldn't be too restrictive either like not letting them see like 5 minutes of news just because tv is even more harmful and being overprotective.. those things they will get exposed to sooner or later anyways.

 

[Aali]

No

my brother is 10 and doesn't have a phone, he has a 1st gen iPad and that makes him happy

If for some reason he needed to make a phone call he could just ask to borrow my phone.

He does, however, borrow my phone from time to time to play games I have on it like Crossy roads and Card Wars (that I downloaded for him to play because his gen 1 ipad doesnt work with a lot of newer apple store games)

But no, I think it's ridiculous kids need a phone, i didnt get one until i was 12 because i started walking home by myself in a semi-shaddy place. But it was a little phone that you could pop it up and get a long keyboard and all I could do is call and text.

But yeah, the only time a kid should have a phone is i they borrowed it from a parent/sibling/etc to play a game

 

[ZetaFunction]

Honestly? No. There's this thing, called brainrot, which you get when you stare at screens for too long. Younger people are more susceptible to it than older.

LOL but realistically, the internet does have its advantages for younger kids, but there's a lot of innapropriate and adult things on it that kids shouldn't see if you give them free range of the internet, so I'd say maybe to kids having an iphone, but have it extremely restricted like to only specific websites/apps allowed, etc.

 

[cIementine]

i don't think anyone under the age of nine really needs a phone unless they have to walk a long way home from school maybe to contact parents? i feel like even a bit older than that is pushing it.
anyone under that age doesn't need one because they see their friends often, and if they want to hang out their parents usually arrange it. an ipad? yeah.
i got my first phone when i was 11.

 

[Alienfish]

Don't get the thing with ipads either but that's because i'm an old hag really.

I'd just give my kid (if I wanted them) something non-digital or in best cause maybe an old gameboy or something not as expensive gaming if people are that entertainment craving nowadays

 

[Biscuit_m8]

I didn't get a phone until I started high school, what would a 5 year old do with a phone bc i really don't know...

 

[sej]

No, definitely not, I'm 13, and the phone I'm on now is my first actual phone that's mine. I have had rubbish hand me downs in the past, and I only got flip phone when I was 10 so....

My really spoilt cousins (5 and 8) have an iPad mini that they don't need, and also may I mention that one of them (5 year old) has dropped his iPad and demanded a screen replacement. Just goes to show that having an iPhone/iPad when you're under 10 is a complete waste of time and money.

 

[nintendofan85]

My phone is an old Kyocera slider phone from 2009, and it's the only phone I've had, and I've only had it for a few months now.
My dad says that I'd break his LG Android phone if I touch it, despite me being 16...

 

[Cudon]

My phone is an old Kyocera slider phone from 2009, and it's the only phone I've had, and I've only had it for a few months now.
My dad says that I'd break his LG Android phone if I touch it, despite me being 16...

Imo that's a bit too extreme. You should be trusted to be responsible enough to own a phone... I mean in the states you could drive a car by now so why not get a phone. You'll be considered an adult in 2 years yet your parents will not trust you with semi durable technology.

 

[ok.sean]

I got my first iPhone when I was 14 becuase I used some crappy Android for 2 years and had all A's in all of my classes.

 

[nintendofan85]

Imo that's a bit too extreme. You should be trusted to be responsible enough to own a phone... I mean in the states you could drive a car by now so why not get a phone. You'll be considered an adult in 2 years yet your parents will not trust you with semi durable technology.

It's because of an accident that happened in 2011 where one of our Toshiba laptops got its screen broken because somehow it ended up behind a rocking chair and the screen got cracked as a result, and so since 2011 I've never been trusted with electronics by my father again.
I try to be really polite if I'd like to use my dad's phone just for like a Google search or something yet he yells at me saying "It's mine, Rodney (my name)! You have no right to touch this!".
I don't have the best relationship with my parents, especially my father, honestly... But I think what I said there makes it appear pretty obvious.