8 ms·

A wise move. I suspect you'll see many more cities across the globe follow suit over the coming decades. There is absolutely no reason a child younger than th

A wise move. I suspect you'll see many more cities across the globe follow suit over the coming decades. There is absolutely no reason a child younger than that age "needs" a phone. At best they are potential conveniences. But they are basically guaranteed to be harmful to some degree. Easy net benefit to these kids.

newanalog 3y ago
Some medical devices like the Dexcom CGM and insulin pumps use smartphones to communicate and upload their data to the cloud where parents are able to follow their child’s readings. So, there are some reasons. The phone isn’t the problem. Social media is the real issue. For children who have a healthy relationship with their parents, and are able to correctly handle peer pressure, it can be fine.
- eganist 3y ago
  Sounds like a great market for a health-only iot device or basic wristband with an e-sim. Tailor made for kids, at least to start.
- NovaDudely 3y ago
  I'm glad you mentioned this. There is always an exception to the rule and this is one of those. While this is a case of were there should be a dedicated machine, until that appears, the phone is a decent middle man machine.
- whywhywhywhy 3y ago
  Can't they just check it when the kids get home? Like what are they going to do from their work anyway. Silly we have to throw all kids mental health and attention spans down the toilet just to satisfy some fringe cases like this that all existed before smartphones.
- tomjen3 3y ago
  Totally agreed on social media and endless youtube, but in the case of a medical need you can lock the phone down with screen time locks.
lmm 3y ago
There's no reason a child that young "needs" to read either, but we tend to think it's a good idea to let them experience the modern world and get ready to live in it. I predict these children will have more social issues in adulthood and thrive less well than those who had smartphones when they were younger.
- Slava_Propanei 3y ago
  [dead]
- AbrahamParangi 3y ago
  Are you aware that there is a dose-response relationship observable between adolescent smartphone and social media usage and mental health issues?
  - barry-cotter 3y ago
    If you’re going to make a claim that strong please provide evidence.
    - numlock86 3y ago
      He probably read it on social media.
      - AbrahamParangi 3y ago
        [dead]
    - tomjen3 3y ago
      Not OP. Here is evidence for screen time being dose dependent after more than 1 hour, but it is old so none of the kids in that study had grown up with smartphones https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283687526_Dose-response_association_of_screen_timebased_sedentary_behaviour_in_children_and_adolescents_and_depression_A_meta-Analysis_of_observational_studies https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283687526_Dose-resp... This is a summary article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012622/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012622/ you will find the dose dependt point is the first paragraph under the heading "Key Points".
valine 3y ago
It’s a horrible move. When it comes to technology, the kids affected by this will be illiterate compared to their peers. I graduated college in 2018. Some of my classmates weren’t allowed to use “screens” growing up, and you could tell instantly. They struggled to use google to do basic research, struggled to collaborate in group projects, and were generally a burden to others, constantly needing help with technology.
- gnicholas 3y ago
  I’m curious what skills these pre-teens would miss out on by not having smartphones. They can still use computers, tablets, and dumbphones. And once they’re 14 their parents can decide to let them have a smartphone, so it’s not like they’ll go off to college never having touched a smartphone.
- analog31 3y ago
  Counterpoint, I grew up without any screens, and am more tech savvy than both of my kids put together. When the technology arrived, I learned programming, word processing, the web, google, and collaboration, with no effort at all. Likewise my siblings and my mom. That stuff just isn't all that hard. It doesn't require an entire childhood spent learning it.
- onion2k 3y ago
  When it comes to technology, the kids affected by this will be illiterate compared to their peers. My nephew could competently use a phone (use apps, update settings, understand installing things, etc) when he was 6. A 13 year old will be able to catch up in a week.
- easytiger 3y ago
  So you think people born in the 1990s are unable to communicate but at all?
  - valine 3y ago
    Average technical literacy decreases the further back you go. I don’t think that’s controversial.
albertopv 3y ago
As a parent, I can't agree more
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
hef19898 3y ago
In most jurisdictions, cities have no say in this question. Schools can ban cell phones on school grounds, during business hours, that's it. Everything else is mostly a question of at least state if not national legislation. So, no, it's not gonna happen. The US might be different, the amount of stuff a school board, for one single school, HOAs or city councils can legislate is just mind boggling sometimes.

newanalog 3y ago

Some medical devices like the Dexcom CGM and insulin pumps use smartphones to communicate and upload their data to the cloud where parents are able to follow their child’s readings. So, there are some reasons. The phone isn’t the problem. Social media is the real issue. For children who have a healthy relationship with their parents, and are able to correctly handle peer pressure, it can be fine.

eganist 3y ago
Sounds like a great market for a health-only iot device or basic wristband with an e-sim. Tailor made for kids, at least to start.
NovaDudely 3y ago
I'm glad you mentioned this. There is always an exception to the rule and this is one of those. While this is a case of were there should be a dedicated machine, until that appears, the phone is a decent middle man machine.
whywhywhywhy 3y ago
Can't they just check it when the kids get home? Like what are they going to do from their work anyway. Silly we have to throw all kids mental health and attention spans down the toilet just to satisfy some fringe cases like this that all existed before smartphones.
tomjen3 3y ago
Totally agreed on social media and endless youtube, but in the case of a medical need you can lock the phone down with screen time locks.

lmm 3y ago

There's no reason a child that young "needs" to read either, but we tend to think it's a good idea to let them experience the modern world and get ready to live in it. I predict these children will have more social issues in adulthood and thrive less well than those who had smartphones when they were younger.

Slava_Propanei 3y ago
[dead]
AbrahamParangi 3y ago
Are you aware that there is a dose-response relationship observable between adolescent smartphone and social media usage and mental health issues?
- barry-cotter 3y ago
  If you’re going to make a claim that strong please provide evidence.
  - numlock86 3y ago
    He probably read it on social media.
    - AbrahamParangi 3y ago
      [dead]
  - tomjen3 3y ago
    Not OP. Here is evidence for screen time being dose dependent after more than 1 hour, but it is old so none of the kids in that study had grown up with smartphones https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283687526_Dose-response_association_of_screen_timebased_sedentary_behaviour_in_children_and_adolescents_and_depression_A_meta-Analysis_of_observational_studies https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283687526_Dose-resp... This is a summary article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012622/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012622/ you will find the dose dependt point is the first paragraph under the heading "Key Points".

valine 3y ago

It’s a horrible move. When it comes to technology, the kids affected by this will be illiterate compared to their peers. I graduated college in 2018. Some of my classmates weren’t allowed to use “screens” growing up, and you could tell instantly. They struggled to use google to do basic research, struggled to collaborate in group projects, and were generally a burden to others, constantly needing help with technology.

gnicholas 3y ago
I’m curious what skills these pre-teens would miss out on by not having smartphones. They can still use computers, tablets, and dumbphones. And once they’re 14 their parents can decide to let them have a smartphone, so it’s not like they’ll go off to college never having touched a smartphone.
analog31 3y ago
Counterpoint, I grew up without any screens, and am more tech savvy than both of my kids put together. When the technology arrived, I learned programming, word processing, the web, google, and collaboration, with no effort at all. Likewise my siblings and my mom. That stuff just isn't all that hard. It doesn't require an entire childhood spent learning it.
onion2k 3y ago
When it comes to technology, the kids affected by this will be illiterate compared to their peers. My nephew could competently use a phone (use apps, update settings, understand installing things, etc) when he was 6. A 13 year old will be able to catch up in a week.
easytiger 3y ago
So you think people born in the 1990s are unable to communicate but at all?
- valine 3y ago
  Average technical literacy decreases the further back you go. I don’t think that’s controversial.

albertopv 3y ago

As a parent, I can't agree more

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

hef19898 3y ago

In most jurisdictions, cities have no say in this question. Schools can ban cell phones on school grounds, during business hours, that's it. Everything else is mostly a question of at least state if not national legislation. So, no, it's not gonna happen. The US might be different, the amount of stuff a school board, for one single school, HOAs or city councils can legislate is just mind boggling sometimes.