Giving kids smartphones

Keawyeds

Striker
Nearly a quarter of UK five-to-seven-year-olds now have their own smartphone, Ofcom research suggests.
Social media use also rose in the age group over last year with nearly two in five using messaging service WhatsApp, despite its minimum age of 13.

Heard this on the news this morning. What, and I can't stress this enough, the actual fuck are "parents" doing letting kids as young as 5 on WhatsApp?!
Mini-K has a tablet where she can watch iPlayer or whatnot, but there's no way in hell I'd be letting her on social media FFS.

Kids on social media will only end badly.
 


5-7 year old having a smart phone which they dont need until they’re 12-13 at the earliest is just lazy oarenting and damaging to the kids

Shocking stuff and you get generations of parents will get hammer for it but phones have took plenty over my step mother in law was over for tea the other week and never took her phone out of her hand aside from being at the table eating and she’s just gone 60
 
Nearly a quarter of UK five-to-seven-year-olds now have their own smartphone, Ofcom research suggests.
Social media use also rose in the age group over last year with nearly two in five using messaging service WhatsApp, despite its minimum age of 13.

Heard this on the news this morning. What, and I can't stress this enough, the actual fuck are "parents" doing letting kids as young as 5 on WhatsApp?!
Mini-K has a tablet where she can watch iPlayer or whatnot, but there's no way in hell I'd be letting her on social media FFS.

Kids on social media will only end badly.

Sadly kids on social media end much worse than badly in some instances, how their parents can't (or won't) see this is a reflection of a section of today's society.
 
My kids all got smart phones when the started secondary school.
Partly because all the other kids would have them but mostly so I can see where they are.
Once they're out of the cosseted world of junior school, they're just turned loose at 3pm every day and I just wanted to be able to contact them if needed.

You really need to limit use of them when they're younger.
My mates 6 year old talks with an American accent as the TV and tablet are his go to babysitters full of cheesy yank cartoons.
 
Our kids have had our hand me downs then got their own probably around that age. As long as they aren't glued to them and have other interests then don't see the issue, plus they have to be monitored
 
Something I’m dreading in the future. I don’t want my kids to have smartphones at all. But I also don’t want to reach a point where they are the only ones in class/ school that they get picked off for it.

I didn’t get a smartphone until I could afford to buy one myself when I was 17
 
I’d imagine they’d be better than the adults on social media.

That's actually a fair point. If they can keep it to kids only social media, it would probably a model for a future United Nations.
My kids all got smart phones when the started secondary school.
Partly because all the other kids would have them but mostly so I can see where they are.
Once they're out of the cosseted world of junior school, they're just turned loose at 3pm every day and I just wanted to be able to contact them if needed.

You really need to limit use of them when they're younger.
My mates 6 year old talks with an American accent as the TV and tablet are his go to babysitters full of cheesy yank cartoons.

I'd be banning that shit left right and centre.
It's not just kids with phones that are a problem.
Mrs R is in her 7th decade and she interacts with google more than she talks to me.

Does Google answer her when she speak to it and not give her any grief? :lol:
 
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Apparently many of the big Tech Leaders, don't let their kids use the gadgets they design, interesting that don't you think?
 
Apparently many of the big Tech Leaders, don't let their kids use the gadgets they design, interesting that don't you think?
They also advise not giving the devices to our own kids. But no we know little Chardonnay better..

Then when shit kicks off between kids on the phones it's then the schools fault
 
The vast majority of kids that age won't be using them to phone people or any type of social media. They are just another form of a screen to look at to watch stuff and play games. My 9yo has got one, I want him to be confident using a phone for when he gets a bit more freedom. Like everything to do with devices I can control what he watches. He can't download a app without putting a password in only I know
 
Nearly a quarter of UK five-to-seven-year-olds now have their own smartphone, Ofcom research suggests.
Social media use also rose in the age group over last year with nearly two in five using messaging service WhatsApp, despite its minimum age of 13.

Heard this on the news this morning. What, and I can't stress this enough, the actual fuck are "parents" doing letting kids as young as 5 on WhatsApp?!
Mini-K has a tablet where she can watch iPlayer or whatnot, but there's no way in hell I'd be letting her on social media FFS.

Kids on social media will only end badly.
My 6 year old niece has one and it is better than mine. It was SIL's hand me down when she got new one. I think it might even be iPhone 13. Not sure why a 6 year old needs a phone but I certainly wouldn't be doing it as a parent
 

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