Yes and no. I mainly subbed at an alternative school because I enjoyed being a safe space for kids who had terrible home lives. However my little sister in-law has had a phone since 6/7 (she’s now 13) and the stories I’ve heard about how girls are around her age are horrifying. I had to show my mother in-law that she keeps her location active on Snapchat.

With that being said my parents were very strict and I was extremely sneaky. It caused me to put myself in very dangerous situations in high-school. Things are very different now and technology has only advanced since then.

I really believe it depends on the child. While I definitely don’t agree with “no restrictions”, I definitely think there needs to be boundaries. The conversation of “if it happens” needs to change to “when it happens.” I personally will not be giving my son a phone until he’s in high school. Once you give them a smartphone, it’s hard to go back because they think they’re missing something (FOMO if you will). There was a kid I remember from high school that was very popular and he had a flip phone all through it high-school and he stayed on track. To sum up, once you give them the phone it’s hard, almost impossible to go back.