My father provisioned to me a Nokia brick phone around the age of 14 (circa 2008). It was a prepaid Tracfone, SMS messages counted towards minute usage so I had

My father provisioned to me a Nokia brick phone around the age of 14 (circa 2008). It was a prepaid Tracfone, SMS messages counted towards minute usage so I had to learn to be conservative in my usage. I was eventually gifted an iPod touch, which I promptly jailbroke, and later installed Google Voice to text more freely (over WiFi). My father set strict boundaries when it mattered - he would only finance that which he endorsed. I didn’t have custody over my own bank account or a debit card until I graduated high school. I purchased my first smartphone, a Google Nexus 4, and prepaid data plan after my first semester of community college (circa 2012). The first iPhone was released in 2007 when I was 13. I’m 29 now. My family never had to confront the question OP prompted in a social climate like we have today and I’m thankful for that. My father’s parenting style was fantastic but it wasn’t ideal (given that ideals are unattainable). But his handling of the phone situation is something I intend on recreating with my own children some day.