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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Look, in my view communicating with friends can be done with a simple dumb phone. They do not need an iPhone, ipad or other smart device to communicate once they are out and about on their own. So I reject the argument that iPhones are required for kids to remain socially available to their friends, or for safety. When we’re talking about “wait until 8th,” we’re talking about iPhones/smartphones.

So with that understanding, I agree with the other posters saying this is not a debate about phones for communication. That problem is easily solved. This is a debate about access to the internet and all of its dark corners and access to social media apps. It’s also a question of moving socializing from face to face, to texting.

Access to social media: the research on a lot of this is becoming clearer and clearer. Social media is to depression as cigarettes are to cancer.  The result on developing brains is even more profound. And those of you who say “social media is here to stay.” Actually, with the scientific consensus, increase of AI slop out there, and general attitude shifting away from these platforms, I’m not so sure. I wonder if Social Media will  be something we look back at like when everyone smoked cigarettes, like “wow, I can’t believe we thought that was OK.”

Access to internet at large: here’s one thing to think about…some sources say the average age for accessing explicit content online is as young as NINE YEARS OLD. Let that sink in for a second. We’re not taking about coming across a picture from Playboy in a nightstand drawer. We’re taking about moving explicit imagery, and tons of it. The vast majority of kids who find explicit content online say their first time seeing it was accidental. Is your kid ready to see that kind of content? If you give your kid an ipad, iPhone, smartphone…with access to internet OR with access to chatting/texting with other kids who have access to the internet, then you are accepting that risk.

I understand that some parents believe they are doing their kids a favor by teaching them to regulate themselves around the internet from an early age. I think it’s naive. Look at the relationships forum. How many adult men are able to regulate themselves around explicit content? How many women feel like crap after looking at social media and yet still do? Kids have a reduced capacity to regulate themselves, I’m not sure how exposure in this case would help them figure it out.

Lastly, socializing: we all know that face to face contact is better for kids and adults. And brains. And hearts. And all of it. Texting is an excellent tool, but if, as a parent, you can emphasize that texting is for communicating and not for maintaining a relationship, I think that’s for the better. Go meet up with your friend. Ask out that person. Go for a walk. Dumb phones are so inconvenient, texting is possible, but not fun. I think that’s what you want for now.

Of course, whether we need to sign pledges or not is another question. But when I see “wait for 8th” this is how I interpret it. It’s about holding off on those parts of technology that will take away kids’ focus, innocence, sense of self, and ability to develop relationships in real life. 
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This is spot on. The problems are that parents love it when their kids are more "mature", love it when they act older, are cool ect. They don't let their kids out of their sight to socialize in person and more and more kids dont live near other kids. [/quote]

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