We are happy subscribers to Pinwheel (https://www.pinwheel.com https://www.pinwheel.com), which is a smartphone without browser or social media access. Our kid

We are happy subscribers to Pinwheel (https://www.pinwheel.com https://www.pinwheel.com), which is a smartphone without browser or social media access. Our kids can still phone and text their friends, take photos and videos, listen to music, etc. There are hundreds of supported apps, and we can always whitelist apps from the Google Play Store as needed. But they're not on Insta/Snapchat/TikTok, they can't browse the Web, and we have reasonable oversight via parental controls. Likewise, our 7th and 9th graders have laptops, but they don't have unfettered access to the Web. Our hope is that by giving them sloooow exposure to the digital realm, with a lot of guard rails, they'll be less likely to get smacked in the face with something really awful that they're not equipped to handle. I see this as a moderate position, between a total ban on technology, and practically no restrictions at all, which seems like a recipe for disaster for the majority of tweens and teens. That said, I recognize that compared with many of their peers, it's pretty strict. That's probably the hardest part of navigating the technology landscape -- having to deal with the comparisons between what we think is sensible and what other parents allow for their kids.