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» Are kids better off without cell phones until 18+?
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post 1704740251 08-08-2024, 11:56 AM
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  1. eddiehaskell
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Are kids better off without cell phones until 18+?

a cell phone is basically poison that will rot their brains and set a pattern of being an addict for life. when i made a comment like this on an article the mothers started naming all the possible bad situations where their kids need to call them (school shootings, etc).

i might be part of the last generation where basically no one had cell phones and nobody even cared. it was actually great and like true freedom compared to now. now everyone is expected to be connected 24/7...big money in you being engaged
post 1704740321 08-08-2024, 11:56 AM
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Yeah, but at the same time they'll get bullied in school if they don't got a cell phone.
post 1704740421 08-08-2024, 11:59 AM
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Originally Posted By ScrillaIsBake
Yeah, but at the same time they'll get bullied in school if they don't got a cell phone.
don't send them to a school factory
post 1704740451 08-08-2024, 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted By ScrillaIsBake
Yeah, but at the same time they'll get bullied in school if they don't got a cell phone.
I think it's time to consider home schooling or private Christian schools for parents who want to raise a decent kid. Public education is a complete disaster in these times
See Shakebrah's sig
post 1704740491 08-08-2024, 12:00 PM
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I think everyone is better off without them
post 1704740501 08-08-2024, 12:01 PM
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  1. nrowles
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Originally Posted By ScrillaIsBake
Yeah, but at the same time they'll get bullied in school if they don't got a cell phone.
Was going to say this. We held out until 11. My daughter started asking for one at like 6 when kids in her class were getting them. Now she's 12 and pissed all the time because she can't have snapchat but "all" her friends have it. So if you don't allow them to have it at all they'd be suicidal. Being able to communicate with her when she's not home is nice too.
post 1704740651 08-08-2024, 12:05 PM
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I’d buy them a basic non smart phone call and text only
post 1704740791 08-08-2024, 12:08 PM
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fuk all smart devices
post 1704740931 08-08-2024, 12:11 PM
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  1. eddiehaskell
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Originally Posted By nrowles
Was going to say this. We held out until 11. My daughter started asking for one at like 6 when kids in her class were getting them. Now she's 12 and pissed all the time because she can't have snapchat but "all" her friends have it. So if you don't allow them to have it at all they'd be suicidal. Being able to communicate with her when she's not home is nice too.
lol having a smartphone just invites 24/7 addiction/anxiety about this and that which is ultimately greater than the "ridicule" of not having one.
post 1704740951 08-08-2024, 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted By Basedbaby
I’d buy them a basic non smart phone call and text only
This!

At the age when they start running around out side with friends just so you know where they ere and when to get home
"it takes a wise man to know when he is in error and a noble man to admit to it"
post 1704740981 08-08-2024, 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted By Basedbaby
I’d buy them a basic non smart phone call and text only
This.

It's not the telephone part that's bad - it's the internet part. Minors dont need 24/7 fingertip access to the degeneracy of the broader world. It always shocked me how overwhelmingly society just started giving kids smartphones. So unnecessary and counter productive.
post 1704741091 08-08-2024, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted By eddiehaskell
lol having a smartphone just invites 24/7 addiction/anxiety about this and that which is ultimately greater than the "ridicule" of not having one.
If you raise your kid to have self confidence and be a leader and a winner and not a follower they are not going to care about ridicule. Other leaders and winners don't go around ridiculing others anyways
"it takes a wise man to know when he is in error and a noble man to admit to it"
post 1704741101 08-08-2024, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted By nrowles
Was going to say this. We held out until 11. My daughter started asking for one at like 6 when kids in her class were getting them. Now she's 12 and pissed all the time because she can't have snapchat but "all" her friends have it. So if you don't allow them to have it at all they'd be suicidal. Being able to communicate with her when she's not home is nice too.
Have you talked to her friends parents and asked them what theyre thinking?
post 1704741111 08-08-2024, 12:15 PM
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In a vacuum, yes. The problem is if they don't use one at all growing up and aren't taught to use them responsibly, then all of a sudden have unrestricted access at 18, there's a high likelihood of having big problems with them later on. My kids don't get them at all until high school and at that point we watch their hours and what they're doing, and they get limited if needed.
MFC
post 1704741431 08-08-2024, 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted By TASTEROFPUPPETS
This.

It's not the telephone part that's bad - it's the internet part. Minors dont need 24/7 fingertip access to the degeneracy of the broader world. It always shocked me how overwhelmingly society just started giving kids smartphones. So unnecessary and counter productive.
yeah idiots out here giving their 5-6 yr olds their own smartphones. might as well sign them up on the misc while they're at it
post 1704741551 08-08-2024, 12:25 PM
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Originally Posted By TASTEROFPUPPETS
Have you talked to her friends parents and asked them what theyre thinking?
No. Not sure how many of you on here have kids around the 10 year old age right now but I guarantee 95% of them have a phone. That's just the way it is. I held out longer than most and still don't allow many apps that other parents do. Additionally, our kid does sports and spends a lot time outdoors. She has a go kart, permanent basketball hoop, large pool, etc. We keep her active with many other things.
post 1704741571 08-08-2024, 12:25 PM
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Originally Posted By FarmersSon
In a vacuum, yes. The problem is if they don't use one at all growing up and aren't taught to use them responsibly, then all of a sudden have unrestricted access at 18, there's a high likelihood of having big problems with them later on. My kids don't get them at all until high school and at that point we watch their hours and what they're doing, and they get limited if needed.
not like they are super complicated to use and learn so they NEED to start early...by not having one though they'll at least have some frame of reference to a life uncomplicated by constant connection. so in 20 years when they are burned out, depressed and scrolling tiktok at 3am...maybe they'll be able to see the light
post 1704741741 08-08-2024, 12:30 PM
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Originally Posted By nrowles
No. Not sure how many of you on here have kids around the 10 year old age right now but I guarantee 95% of them have a phone. That's just the way it is. I held out longer than most and still don't allow many apps that other parents do. Additionally, our kid does sports and spends a lot time outdoors. She has a go kart, permanent basketball hoop, large pool, etc. We keep her active with many other things.
the peer pressure that parents feel to get their kids connected to the black hole is rediculous. you feel extreme pressure to connect your 10 YEAR OLD...10 YEAR OLD...to the wild wild west that is the internet. their brains aren't even developed and the life long addiction is already being engrained. basically like getting them started on cigarettes by age 7-8.
post 1704741971 08-08-2024, 12:35 PM
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Originally Posted By eddiehaskell
not like they are super complicated to use and learn so they NEED to start early...by not having one though they'll at least have some frame of reference to a life uncomplicated by constant connection. so in 20 years when they are burned out, depressed and scrolling tiktok at 3am...maybe they'll be able to see the light
Sorry, to clarify, I wasn't talking about them learning to use the functionality. The goal is to help them learn good habits so they recognize when they are using them too much, or at inappropriate times, etc. Basically, so they learn to use the phone as a tool rather than the other way around as it is for a lot of people. I have more faith in them doing that with my help versus when they're out on their own.
MFC
post 1704742321 08-08-2024, 12:40 PM
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Originally Posted By FarmersSon
Sorry, to clarify, I wasn't talking about them learning to use the functionality. The goal is to help them learn good habits so they recognize when they are using them too much, or at inappropriate times, etc. Basically, so they learn to use the phone as a tool rather than the other way around as it is for a lot of people.
yeah i get that. unfortunately keeping people connected is like a science/business of psychology now...almost to the point where they've hijacked our brains. those of us that lived in a time without phones can see it. it's like the internet is now an extension of our own brain so people get very emotional like anxiety attack when being without one is even mentioned.
post 1704747441 08-08-2024, 02:25 PM
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I am not some super fan of cell phones i buy the cheapo androids with the cheapest plan. I dont carry it with me unless I have an extra pocket,. i basically use it when travelling or something like that.

That said, kids need that social network especially if their friends all have it.

Its up top the parents to teach responsible use if the thing. I had a full on gun and mini bike for christmas when I was in 4th grade. My dad made sure all us kids had one. He taught us how to use them responsibly.

Thats your job as a father.

I think it would be way more ostracizing if they didnt have one in school than if they did. Like that one weird religious kid who doesnt celebrate chirstmas or birthdays.
"To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggle that will go on to the very last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other."-- Carlos Castaneda
post 1704747871 08-08-2024, 02:34 PM
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Originally Posted By crupiea
I am not some super fan of cell phones i buy the cheapo androids with the cheapest plan. I dont carry it with me unless I have an extra pocket,. i basically use it when travelling or something like that.

That said, kids need that social network especially if their friends all have it.

Its up top the parents to teach responsible use if the thing. I had a full on gun and mini bike for christmas when I was in 4th grade. My dad made sure all us kids had one. He taught us how to use them responsibly.

Thats your job as a father.

I think it would be way more ostracizing if they didnt have one in school than if they did. Like that one weird religious kid who doesnt celebrate chirstmas or birthdays.
the power of those studying human psychology and ways to digitally hijack the brain are likely stronger than any parenting you can do in regards to safe use. you aren't going to parent a child out of a device designed to addict them.
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