What age should people get their first cell phones?

[Eahland]

Kids should have cell phones as soon as they're intellectually capable of operating one.

My sister, after multiple incidents in which her kids' safety and well-being was endangered because they were unable to contact her, started requiring them to carry their phones on them all the time (and got a phone for the youngest, then about 8, who didn't already have one), in direct contravention of school district policy. She told them that if any of their teachers gave them any grief about it, they were to refer them to her.

It's worth noting that public pay phones basically don't exist anymore.

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

Wifi capable cellphones: Not until they're adults. The Internet is a cesspool of lies.

Non-wifi-capable cellphones: Absolutely no problem having them in childhood. Parents might need to call them while they're out playing.

Non-wifi-capable, game-capable cellphones: Kind of a grey area. I presume the point of sending them outside is so they can play something other than video games.

We very specifically need a type of "children's phone" that has calling but no Internet. Too bad too many people dare not admit the Internet is a cesspool to push for one. They might then have to admit that the "gatekeepers" controlling the old media were providing a valuable service after all.

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

Kids should have cell phones as soon as they're intellectually capable of operating one.

My sister, after multiple incidents in which her kids' safety and well-being was endangered because they were unable to contact her, started requiring them to carry their phones on them all the time (and got a phone for the youngest, then about 8, who didn't already have one), in direct contravention of school district policy. She told them that if any of their teachers gave them any grief about it, they were to refer them to her.

It's worth noting that public pay phones basically don't exist anymore.

Why can't they contact the school and have the school contact the kids?

[Agarntrop]

Kids should have cell phones as soon as they're intellectually capable of operating one.

My sister, after multiple incidents in which her kids' safety and well-being was endangered because they were unable to contact her, started requiring them to carry their phones on them all the time (and got a phone for the youngest, then about 8, who didn't already have one), in direct contravention of school district policy. She told them that if any of their teachers gave them any grief about it, they were to refer them to her.

It's worth noting that public pay phones basically don't exist anymore.

Is your sister called Karen?

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Kids should have cell phones as soon as they're intellectually capable of operating one.

My sister, after multiple incidents in which her kids' safety and well-being was endangered because they were unable to contact her, started requiring them to carry their phones on them all the time (and got a phone for the youngest, then about 8, who didn't already have one), in direct contravention of school district policy. She told them that if any of their teachers gave them any grief about it, they were to refer them to her.

It's worth noting that public pay phones basically don't exist anymore.

Is your sister called Karen?

Why do you ask that? It sounds like quite sensible parenting. School districts often do stupid things.

[North German Realm]

Kids should have cell phones as soon as they're intellectually capable of operating one.

My sister, after multiple incidents in which her kids' safety and well-being was endangered because they were unable to contact her, started requiring them to carry their phones on them all the time (and got a phone for the youngest, then about 8, who didn't already have one), in direct contravention of school district policy. She told them that if any of their teachers gave them any grief about it, they were to refer them to her.

It's worth noting that public pay phones basically don't exist anymore.

Is your sister called Karen?

To be perfectly honest, that sounds sensible, not at all like what one expects from a Karen.

[The Emerald Legion]

I didn't get a cell phone until I started going to college. Then didn't get a smart phone until I turned like, 25.

[Eahland]

Kids should have cell phones as soon as they're intellectually capable of operating one.

My sister, after multiple incidents in which her kids' safety and well-being was endangered because they were unable to contact her, started requiring them to carry their phones on them all the time (and got a phone for the youngest, then about 8, who didn't already have one), in direct contravention of school district policy. She told them that if any of their teachers gave them any grief about it, they were to refer them to her.

It's worth noting that public pay phones basically don't exist anymore.

Why can't they contact the school and have the school contact the kids?

You seem to have failed to understand what I said. The problem wasn't that my sister needed to call her kids at school, it was that the kids had gotten into a bad situation of some sort, and because they weren't carrying their phones because they were forbidden for most of their day, could not call for help.

One of those, my nieces were trapped on the school bus with a kid who had become violent, whom the bus driver was legally forbidden from actually touching to restrain, and the only reason my sister found out what was going on and was able to get her daughters off that bus unharmed and get them to school was that one of the neighbors, who also had a kid on the bus, happened to be driving by on her way to work, recognized that it was their kids' bus, and stopped to investigate, and used her cell phone to call my sister.

Also... remember the "D.C. shooter" a few years ago? Every single place those shootings happened is a place I've been with my sister and her kids. One of them was the shopping plaza where my brother-in-law routinely stopped to eat on his way home from work. They weren't actually present for any of the shootings, but that was just a matter of timing. A few hours, in one case. Their schools have active shooter drills. In situations like that, you can't go, "Oh, I'm just going to run down to the office and get them to call Mom."

The world is a dangerous place. Kids being able to contact their parents, or emergency services, no matter where they might be is not an unnecessary luxury that's spoiling today's youth. It's an important safety precaution.

[Cisairse]

Wifi capable cellphones: Not until they're adults. The Internet is a cesspool of lies.

Non-wifi-capable cellphones: Absolutely no problem having them in childhood. Parents might need to call them while they're out playing.

Non-wifi-capable, game-capable cellphones: Kind of a grey area. I presume the point of sending them outside is so they can play something other than video games.

We very specifically need a type of "children's phone" that has calling but no Internet. Too bad too many people dare not admit the Internet is a cesspool to push for one. They might then have to admit that the "gatekeepers" controlling the old media were providing a valuable service after all.

flip phones are a thing

[Narland]

Most American Public Schools:

Schools with a Junior High
6 years of Elementary School (Primary Education) -- Grades 1-6 -- usually start at 6 or 7 years old (kids born in November and December)
2 years of Junior High School (Secondary Education) -- Grades 7-8 -- usually 13-14 years old (some 15 y.o.)
4 years of High School (also confusingly a part of Secondary Education) -- Grades 9 -12 usually 15 - 18 years old (some 19 y. o.)

Schools with a Middle School
6 years of Elementary School (Primary Education) -- Grades 1-6 -- usually start at 6 or 7 years old
3 years of Middle School (Secondary Education) -- Grades 7-9 -- usually 13-15 years old (some 16 y.o.)
3 years of High School (also confusingly a part of Secondary Education) -- Grades 10 -12 usually 16 - 18 years old (some 19 y. o.)

***I went to lunch before posting so it might be a bit late in the thread.***

umm...no?

Elementary school- Kindergarten- 5th grade
Middle School- 6-8
High school- 9-12

sorry, I typed it quickly and should have cut & pasted instead.

Some areas Middle Schools are as you indicate.

Middle schools in the United States usually cover grades 6–8 or 7–9. Historically, local public control (and private alternatives) have allowed for some variation in the organization of schools. Elementary school includes kindergarten through to fifth or sixth grade but some elementary schools have four or eight grades - up to ages 10 or 14
https://www.oei.es/historico/quipu/bolivia/Ley_Reforma_Educativa_1565.pdf

[The Sladerstan]

Let the kids grow without a damn screen, wait until they're 16 or so to give them a phone, or they will be glued to it.


Like me.

[Ghost Land]

-snip-

The world is a dangerous place. Kids being able to contact their parents, or emergency services, no matter where they might be is not an unnecessary luxury that's spoiling today's youth. It's an important safety precaution.

Actually it's not as dangerous as it used to be. Assuming you're American, as this article shows, violent and property crimes in the United States both peaked in the 80s to early 90s, so especially if you're part of Generation X, you probably grew up in a way more dangerous time than today's kids are. We just think crime rates have gone up because of how much exposure we get to grisly stories on the TV and the news. I guarantee that if you'd made this argument in 1980, people would have thought you were crazy, not least because cell phones weren't around then. And yet the vast majority of Generation X turned out just fine, and they'll probably live longer on average than today's kids anyway for unrelated reasons (obesity, drug overdoses, our uncertain political and environmental future, etc.).

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Let the kids grow without a damn screen, wait until they're 16 or so to give them a phone, or they will be glued to it.


Like me.

What's wrong with that though? I grew up using a computer for the majority of my life, it's not caused me problems.

[The Republic of Fore]

Whenever their parent or guardian thinks that they're ready. I got my first phone when I was 9, because I often walked home from school and my mom wanted a way to check on me. And to people complaining about kids being glued to a screen, what's the problem? Sometimes people don't want to stare off into space, or making boring small talk with strangers.

[Cekoviu]

-snip-

The world is a dangerous place. Kids being able to contact their parents, or emergency services, no matter where they might be is not an unnecessary luxury that's spoiling today's youth. It's an important safety precaution.

Actually it's not as dangerous as it used to be. Assuming you're American, as this article shows, violent and property crimes in the United States both peaked in the 80s to early 90s, so especially if you're part of Generation X, you probably grew up in a way more dangerous time than today's kids are. We just think crime rates have gone up because of how much exposure we get to grisly stories on the TV and the news. I guarantee that if you'd made this argument in 1980, people would have thought you were crazy, not least because cell phones weren't around then. And yet the vast majority of Generation X turned out just fine, and they'll probably live longer on average than today's kids anyway for unrelated reasons (obesity, drug overdoses, our uncertain political and environmental future, etc.).

Not as dangerous as insanely dangerous is still dangerous.

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

I got mine in my mid 40s, and I've turned out okay.

[Ghost Land]

I got mine in my mid 40s, and I've turned out okay.

Thank you for proving my point!

[Ifreann]

I got mine in my mid 40s, and I've turned out okay.

Always a dubious claim when made on NSG. If we were okay, would we be here?

[Major-Tom]

I got mine in my mid 40s, and I've turned out okay.

Always a dubious claim when made on NSG. If we were okay, would we be here?

Where else would we go?

[Narland]

Always a dubious claim when made on NSG. If we were okay, would we be here?

Where else would we go?

NS2?

[Luziyca]

I was in Grade 8 (about 14) when I got my first phone, and that was because I was starting to take the city bus to and from school, and it was kinda important to be able to let the school know if I'm running late. It was a flip phone though, and my second phone was a flip phone (I was kinda rough with tech at the time). It was only last year or a couple years ago that I got a new phone after losing my second phone.

Personally, I would say high school or college (and that would have honestly been when I would have gotten my first cell phone), but given how fast the world changes... my answer might change in a few years. I don't know.