Smartphones... and Kids?

This issue is often a subject my students and I discuss. I work as an ESL instructor online, and most of my students are from Japan. Although they come in a variety of ages, many of my students are parents in their late 20s to 50s. Some of them have kids in elementary school, others in junior high school, high school, and university.

The question, What age would you allow your child to use a smartphone?, comes out often, especially when we discuss articles related to smartphones and social media. Their answers differ, although a lot of them think giving their kids smartphones when they enter junior high school is the most ideal.

Junior high school age starts at 13 years old. They also ask me the same question, and I often answer, "I think they can have a smartphone when they start junior high school, but having a social media account should be much later... perhaps when they enter high school". High schoolers' age starts at 16 years old.

Photos from my childhood.

I was born in the 90s, a time when smartphones and social media didn't exist. Despite not having such convenience, I had a really fun and active childhood. I enjoyed playing with my friends from school, and of course, with my cousins who I grew up with. I must say it was such an exciting part of my life.

I got my first smartphone when I was a university student if I'm not mistaken. However, I started using social media back in high school when I was around 16 years old. There was no Facebook, yet, though. But, we had MySpace and Friendster. hahaha

I wasn't addicted to social media unlike some of my friends, maybe because I didn't have my own PC, and when I did go to the internet cafe, I mostly either did my projects or played some games. Yeah, I was more into games than social media... until now. I uninstalled my social media apps to make more space for games. XD

People my age had a happy childhood despite not having a smartphone nor social media. However, the past is so different from the present. We live in a different world now. Many things have changed as years and technology progressed.

Still, I'm against kids under 13 from having their own smartphones. It's too distracting and they'll lose the chance to enjoy being kids. Of course, they can enjoy doing stuff online, but they'll have a lot of time for that when they're adults. I want them to experience the simple joy of spending time with friends, doing activities that don't involve modern technology like sports, art, and so on.

Some parents give smartphones to their kids in case of emergency, but there are regular phones for that purpose.

In Japan, according to my students, they have this so-called Kids Keitai or mobile phones designed for elementary school children. This device allows the kid to make and receive calls and send SMS. Their parents can also manage their phone's settings from their own smartphones. In addition, it also has safety features like GPS tracking to monitor their kids and panic buttons in case of emergencies.

I think this phone serves its purpose with little to no distractions. Kids can easily communicate with their parents (just in case), and have more time to study and play with their friends.

I spent time with some of the kids in our community. We did gardening and art classes together. :)

When the child enters junior high school at the age of 13, there will be more need for a smartphone. Aside from the usual "in case of emergency" situations, they'd need to use other features to browse the internet for information and perhaps use messaging apps like LINE or messenger. It's for easy communication, and even video call if needed.

There will be a need for other features like their camera and so on. Well, they can use social media, but it would be with supervision from the parents, because even though some social media apps limit the age of their users, one can easily fake their age online.

Parents should play a role in monitoring their kids at this stage. It's the start of puberty and a lot of people this age are curious about many things. They're old to be considered kids, but too young to be considered adults.

Limited use plus monitoring would be essential. There are features nowadays that automatically close an app after a limited time, and will be opened again the next day. SO, parents can make use of that if they're busy to manually check their kids' usage.

When a person enters high school, mostly at the age of 16, they should have more freedom, I think. It's in preparation for them to be more independent. I was 16 when I entered university, so I felt like an adult... though I'm far from it.

But at this age, I've started to form my own beliefs and principles. I am aware about the world, so I can carefully make my decisions. Of course, with my parents' guidance, I could make better choices... but this is the age when people learn more from their experiences and their mistakes rather than from what others tell them.

They might not be considered legally adults yet, but it's a start towards that path.

So yeah, for me, kids below the age of 13 shouldn't have their own smartphones, more so have a social media account. What do you think? :)