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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am shocked parents give their 6 graders phones with full internet and social media use. they are 11yrs old. Tell them to go outside and play instead of snapchatting and watching porn.

Oh wait, it is too dangerous to go outside and play. Much safer to give them the entire internet on the phone. [/quote]

This. Middle schoolers do not need smart phones. Flip phones do just fine.

--mother of a 12th grader and a 7th grader[/quote]
Do you restrict your children to only things they need? [/quote]

No. But my conversations with many parents of middle schoolers is that they are under the impression that their children do, indeed, "need" smart phones and that is why they have them. I am simply providing another viewpoint. I hear that middle schoolers "need" them in order to keep up with their friends socially, that they will be outcasts if they don't have them, that they are necessary from a safety perspective, that they have to have them because flip phones are available on their family plan, that increasingly they are used in the classroom.

To all this I say: Nope.[/quote]

I agree and will go further: Not even my high schoolers have smart phones. Flip phones work for them, too. My DC1 tells me he might be the only kid in his entire high school who uses a flip phone. Luckily, he inherited the not-giving-a-crap-what-others-are-doing gene from me.[/quote]

I would never let my high school student go without a smart phone.  Here are the things that he uses it for that you cannot do on a flip phone:

GPS and tracking:  I like to be able to see where he is at all times.  My DS commutes to DC from Bethesda on the metro.

Email:  In high school, kids starting using email more and more to communicate on school projects and with teachers.  I know this is readily available on a laptop, but how nice it is to be able to send off an email in the car without the hassle of pulling out your computer, or having to try to remember to do it later.

Apps used for school, such as quizlet, canvas, google drive, etc.  This enables him to get work done in the car or on the train during commuting times.  I would not want him to be pulling out his laptop on the metro.

Music.  My DS has a deep appreciation for music (not just pop music) and he likes to listen while he is waiting or on the train.

Social media:  Not a necessity, but for my DS, it helps him keep up with current and old friends.  They use Instagram texting when doing group projects.  Instagram texting enables you to commute with other classmates without having to trade phone numbers.  All the kids are doing it and if you don't have it, well you are just weird.  That's right PP, I am fairly certain your DC is considered to be an odd duck, but how nice that he doesn't care.

PP, you may not realize it, but you are making your DCs' lives much more difficult by withholding technology from them.  Yes they will manage, but they will eventually grow to resent you, if that haven't already.
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