At what age should kids be allowed to own smartphones and social media accounts? What could be the issues with having kids own a phone so early in their lives? Is this a plan that could work out?
These are very interesting questions. We all know that in this modern times technology has become an important part of human life. Playing different important roles in every aspect of one's life you might wonder if it's ever possible for one to live without technology. Personally, I don't think mankind can do without technology.
Technology has become a part of human evolution and is now widespread. Every day, technology advances to the next stage.
Smartphones are the most common technology ever, there are millions of smartphones produced periodically.
Now the question is, what age is it okay for a kid to own a smartphone and have access to his own social media account?
I would say around 15 years old and above. The truth is it's not really about the age. I will give my kids access when they start to understand all the pros and cons, the rights and wrongs, the dos and don'ts one needs to understand to own a Smartphone and have access to social media as a whole, and the different responsibilities that come with it.
So if my child understands all these things at, let's say, 17 or even 19 years old, then he gets the access. My main point would be he wouldn't get full access to any of these till he understands everything about owning a smartphone and his own social media account.
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What could be the issues with having kids own a phone so early in their lives? Is this a plan that could work out?
Now if my child should understand everything I have mentioned before at the age of 5 or 10 years old, he wouldn't still get full access to any of those.
There are so many things that could go wrong with having kids own smartphones so early in their lives.
Because many things could go wrong, physically, socially, mentally, and morally. It has both behavioral and intellectual effects.
1. Physical Effects
Poor vision: Extended screen time can lead to eye strain and some eye conditions.
Sleep disruption: Blue light from phone screens interferes and disrupts one's sleep cycle
Obesity: excess attachment to phones/excessive use of phones causes a huge reduction in physical activities, which increases the risk of obesity and other illnesses.
Poor posture: the position the body stays in, like slouching and bending during phone use, over time, can cause poor posture and body strains and pain.
2. Social Effects
Socialization problems: like shyness and anxiety. Weak communication, connection, and ability to relate to others.
Excess screen time can make a child withdraw from society and isolate oneself.
3. Mental Effects
Decreased attention span: this has become a common problem. Kids nowadays hardly can read a novel or book because of this.
Excess social media can lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and even mental health issues.
Early exposure can cause addiction and behaviors like crashing out when deprived of phone access.
4. Moral Effects
Exposure to inappropriate content: Kids might access violence, pornography, or harmful ideologies, influencing their behavior and beliefs.
Frequent exposure to violent games or media can reduce empathy and normalize aggression. This can cause desensitization to violence.
Reduced sense of right and wrong: Constant media consumption can blur their ethical boundaries, especially if not guided by adults.
5. Educational/Intellectual Effects
- Over-reliance on technology can cause one to have low intellect over time as the dependency on technology causes a lack of problem-solving skills.
6. Behavioral Effects
- Kids are quick to pick up and learn what they see and hear, the media is a place with different behaviors. And kids can pick up some bad behaviors when access to the media is unsupervised.
In short, I think the plan of giving kids early access to smartphones and social media, including their own accounts, is something that just doesn't work out for me.