# Hello friends of hive 🥰💕
Looking back in the days of millennium and years of our forefathers, we could see how communication was very difficult due to how phones 📱 in general was not in existence. Although we have other means of communication like letter written, telegram and other cable messages through the post offices 🏤, but communications was still very slow
And then the invention of telephone 📞 made things a bit easy, allowing us to communicate with family and loved ones at our own will but we were still limited due to some wired cables that disconnects at intervals and even months sometimes. I could remember a telecommunication company called Nitel in Nigeria 🇳🇬 many years ago. When ever I go there to book a call to the East to speak to my parents from Lagos State, there will never be network.
The era of smartphones, Artificial Intelligent, Innovation and Computer 💻 era are the best era to mankind despite how many of us see only the disadvantages these things has brought. No matter how ever we want to perceive things, we should have it mind that change will continue to be constant.
And to the question of this prompt which is: At what age should kids be allowed to own smartphones and own social media accounts?
For me I feel that the right age for kids to own smartphones is ten (10) years. At ten any child is already aware of what is good and bad. By this I mean that at this very age a child should be able to understand his or her parents on what to do and what not to do with the phone given to him or her. Here its very important that every parent will want to monitor their kids through the most senior one among other juniors especially when the parents are out for work or businesses, wanting to know how the kids are at home 🏡 maybe after school bus 🚌 has dropped them off from school
I also believed that a ten (10) year old boy or girl can call 📞 for help or emergency 🆘 when there are issues of fire 🔥 outbreak or when a sibling is in danger while parents are still out. This is the case where we as parents has taught them the procedures and also letting them know how important having access to phones are and not just for playing.
I bought a smartphone for my second daughter while she was about eleven (11) years. In fact the purpose of buying her the phone ☎️ then was not for just calling we the parents because her senior sister has hers too, but the purpose was because I saw she has interest in playing games and was becoming technically so cool. I purchased that phone for her to monitor her ambition to life while still in Junior Secondary School 🏫. And to be honest, I could not believe what she started doing after few months of the purchase of this phone. She surprised me the first time she fixed one of her uncles phone after he mistakenly touch something that could not allow him send messages.
Today my daughter has built about two games that she is hoping to lunch and left Electrical Electronics she intended to study 📚 for Artificial Intelligence And Coding. This is a thing of knowing how smart we want our children to become. Smartphones are not just meant for calls, Facebook, TikTok and connecting with bad influences, but its also for our children to help build foundation for their future. A child that is wise knows how important the phone given to him or her by his or her parents is apart from calls or checking on the internet for useful information. Smartphones are very educating to children 👧.
And talking of social media accounts. Children will only have this access when they are at least eighteen (18) years. Although I have seen babies having social media account these days, but being managed by their parents since the social media became a platform for earnings. I have seen parents who use their children for various advertisements, TikTok and YouTubes. These accounts I believe are managed by parents. These children can then be able to take over this account once they are eighteen years which has been a certified age as a youth leading to adult.
Parents or guardians should not see smartphones as something that is damaging to kids. As long as we educate them on how important it is to have smartphones which will help them in one way or the other apart from just calls and surfing 🏄♀️ the internet
This is my response to the #hiveleaners featured Content for week 167, edition 01, tagged “SMARTPHONE AGE”.
Thanks for reading ❤️❤️
Sourced images are credited.
