Ah, Childhood, the time of endless irresponsibilities. Think back to the things you loved to do as a child. For me, it was playing house with my siblings, exploring our 60 acre farm, and having as much dangerous fun as I could without getting caught or hurt. I actually didn’t have the internet until I was probably 11 years old. Even then, it was supposed to be for my parent’s business use only. My siblings and I would sneak in the computer room after dinner and use the powerful mind of Google to ask life’s most daunting questions. It wasn’t until I was 13 that I entered into the world of social media. But owning a smartphone? WhAt’S tHaT???
In an article by NPR in 2019, the author states that 53 percent of children own a smartphone by the age 11. Common Sense Media created an infographic that shows how smartphone ownership in teens has risen around 14% since 2015.
I don’t mean to brag, but four of my siblings and I had to share a FLIP phone until I was 15 and even after that, I didn’t get my first smartphone until I was 17. Now we might not be considered the average phone users, as we came from a rural town and a lower income family, but I could never have imagined owning what might have been considered a “smart” phone when I was 11. My 14 year old sister, however, is a different story.
The statistic that most phone owning children start around the age 11, is probably true for my baby sister. I can’t remember precisely when she got her first phone, but around that time seems accurate. My mom was hesitant to give her a phone, but we didn’t live in a small town anymore, she was doing extracurricular activities, and needed to be able to get in touch with someone. I mean, when I was 11 waiting to get picked up from after school programs or piano lessons… I. just. waited.
Parents now believe that cell phones improve the safety for their children because it allows them to stay connected to them. They think smartphones can be educational and they want their kids to stay connected with peers as well. SellCell did a survey on kids cell phone use in 2019 and found that 57% of kids use their phones for gaming, 50% for watching TV and videos, and about 35% for chatting with friends. While parents intentions for their children owning a cell phone are pure, children aren’t usually using their devices the way their parents hoped.
WHAT ARE THE DANGERS?
We’ll dive into that next week.
The Social Ginger 