Comment on EE warns parents against giving children under 11 a smartphone
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks agoSmartphones cost enough that a parent can control the finances and I don’t believe kids can aquire a large enough fund by themselve without.
And if, usually as a gift and that is probably taken in by a parent anyway
todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
You can buy an Android Tracphone on Amazon for $25: a.co/d/5Xb3DqX
You can buy an unlocked Android phone for $44: a.co/d/0hTu3Me
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
On Amazon you either need to buy gift cards or have a working bank account/credit card.
If your kid works around those road blocks you have more serious problems…
And btw: Are they really usable?
todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
They sell these same cheap phones at the store, and yeah, they work fine. I assume you live way out in the suburbs somewhere where it is unheard of that a young teen might end up at a store with dozens of dollars in their pocket, but I’m being realistic. You have to be vigilant about what your kids are up to.
In many ways, I am more comfortable with my kid going to the store on their own than I am of them using TikTok, given what I know about TikTok.
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
If you call the outer rim of the main city “way out in the suburbs”… Sure
maps.app.goo.gl/vPoEP3hS1yGNsfSH9
Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
And buying that requires knowledge of amazon, knowledge of what phone is useful, knowledge to avoid a scam or faulty product, an email address, a credit card, and a device to order from.
Children are surprisingly clever and have all the time in the world, but they aren’t professional pen-testers and don’t have the experience needed to use online services before having access to them.
It’s far more likely they get a hand-me-down device from a friend and keep it at school, especially if they know such a thing would be confiscated immediately upon discovery. Preventing this interaction would require control over the child’s life nearing Amish levels, or prison levels.
TopRamenBinLaden@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
They sell these at Walmart, too. It really only requires a chance sighting of it and a couple weeks allowance for a young teen or kid to end up with a smartphone.
Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
See that’s more realistic. Sneaking off to walmart is still a bit of a stretch in sprawl-hell, but I can see how a cheap locally available phone might make it’s way into anyone’s hands, especially as a hand-me-down.