Bill Gates: "No cell phone 'till you're 14!"
What is the earliest age that a child should have a cell phone? Parents wonder what the right answer to this question is - at what age did YOU get your first cell phone?
Well, Bill Gates chimed in on the subject during a recent interview - he says that his children didn't get one until they were 14. Click HERE for an article on the subject.
Take a look at the "...list of questions parents should answer before giving their child their first phone" at the bottom of the article.
We will watch this 60 Minutes story in class about how cell phone apps "hack our brains".
HERE is an article about proposed legislation to ban 'pay to win' features in games, such as loot boxes.
We will watch this 60 Minutes story in class about how cell phone apps "hack our brains".
HERE is an article about proposed legislation to ban 'pay to win' features in games, such as loot boxes.
What should a student due to make sure that they don't "overuse" or become addicted to their phone or "screen". Do you think you've become addicted to your phone? What IS the earliest age that you think a child should have a cell phone?
Knowing the risks, what types of things would you want to talk to a child about, like a younger brother or sister, before they are given the responsibility of having a cell phone?
Personally, the age at which a child can get a phone depends how mature he/she is. If the parents know that their child isn't responsible enough to have a phone at 14, they shouldn't get one. If the child is mature enough to make logical and smart decisions, then they should be able to handle a phone. As a parent, I would limit my child's screen time by taking their phone away at a certain time before bed and not allowing their phones at the dinner table.
ReplyDeleteI agree Talia, some kids are mature enough for a phone at a younger age. While other kids really shouldn't have one because they don't know what is good or bad and don't know how to handle themselves.
DeleteI disagree some younger kids are more mature but also they are younger and could still not know good from bad. They could get addicted to there phone and make them less aware of whats going on in the world around them.
DeleteI agree with Sam I think the younger you are the more bad things you don't know about and on top of that they are getting addicted to their phones too.
DeleteI agree, there are also a lot of kids who are just spoiled and their parents will get them a phone no matter what. It really all comes down to the parents to set guidelines and make sure to punish the kid or kids when they cross the line.
DeleteI agree if they are to immature they shouldn't have a phone at all and if they do have a phone they should give there phone to their parents before they go to bed.
DeleteI agree, if they aren't mature enough then they shouldn't have a phone. Even when they get a phone time should be limited. Being too young on a phone, can get you addicted.
DeleteI think that most people are addicted to their phones. After watching the "hack our brains" video, companies such as snapchat and instagram have done much research on our brains to try to maximize the time that we spend on their apps. An example is snapchat has made "streaks" to get us to use their app continuously throughout a long period of time. The longer we use their app, the more money they make.
ReplyDeleteI think the same these app just try to make you stuck on their apps adding thing updating settings all of that just to keep people hooked.
DeleteI agree, companies have tricked us to continue to use their apps. Like Snapchat for example, they have streaks and that causes the people that have one to keep the streak everyday. If they can not send it they get so desperate that they even give others their username and password to send them for them.
DeleteI agree, snapchat also has trophies, that you can only unlock doing special things. And now snapchat has adds, they are short and some can be skipped either way that is more and more money they get. As snapchat gets more popular the more ad revenue they will get. Overall they might just stop caring about over all customer satisfaction.
DeleteI agree the whole streaks things has really made kids and teens, including myself, dependent on snapchat and having streaks that need to be sent everyday. If I were to lose one of my highest streaks I'd get pretty upset.
DeleteI agree, we should really stop being on our phones so much, even kids now days are getting addicted. I feel like parents need to stop buying their young children phones if they want to prevent the addiction that will happen.
DeleteTeenagers should be able to get a phone when he/she is 17 or 18 because we gotta focussed on school. If we focussed on our phones, we're not gonna focussed on anything else, put the phones away you'll be fine, our moms and dads did it why cant we?
ReplyDeletei agree we cant always be on our phones because then we will miss out on stuff thats happening around us.
DeleteI feel like in order to not over use your phone you need either good self control or strict parents. I remember that when I was younger I went on my phone less because my parents made me give them my phone by a certain time every night. And by doing that I went on my phone less then I could have if I actually had it.
ReplyDeletei agree there should be a time to just put it away out of sight out of mind and probably in a different room too.
DeleteYeah Sean, I definitely agree. Now days its just so easy to grab your phone and go on it for very long periods of time and not even realize how long you've spent on it. That's why it helped a lot when parents would restrict our time on it!
DeleteKids and adults now A-days should put down the phone and just go outside for a little bit. Just to get there minds off there phones.
DeleteI agree, phones are a big responsibility, if you cant be mature you shouldnt have a phone and if you do have a phone your parents should be strict.
DeleteI think the earliest age to get a phone is around 13 because of safety reasons but it could lead to being addicted to your phone for hors at a time and playing games on it will further advance the addiction and you will probably spend money to be satisfied.
ReplyDeletei agree if kids get phones at a young age they could find bad things online and they will also become more addicted.
DeleteI really liked and agree with the 'Hack our Brains" 60 minute video. I think its very clever and sneaky but also bad how some of these products are made to play with our brains. The video seemed to mention the natural chemical "Dopamine" quite a bit. It is often called the "feel-good hormone" so it leaves no question in my mind to why major tech companies would use it to their advantage! It makes anyone feel good to get likes or comments or a post or private messages from people! It was also interesting how some apps are programed hold off on notifications or messages so we get more at once. I think i've noticed it myself and been a bit suspicious of it on a messaging app i often use and it makes sense now that I watched this video.
ReplyDeleteYeah Kait, I agree it makes sense why they would use that to their advantage, the video really shocks you when you see what was right under you nose. We are so focused on liked and comments that no one sees that we are addicted to phones.
DeleteYep, thnxs Brooke! I like how you added "Right under our noses" becasue it goes perfectly with this since our phones are literally ''right under our noses" is very sneaky and sly what they do and I don't like it!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYes kids are getting brain hacked right under there nose and i think thats not right they should take some time off of their phones and go out side. JUST GET AWAY FROM YOUR SCREEN!
DeleteI think what shocked me the most is during the video when that company wanted to sell their app on the Apple app store but Apple wouldn't allow it because it promoted people to stop using their phones as much and they didn't want people using their phones less frequently. This made me think that the Apple company doesn't care about the health of their users they only want to make more money.
ReplyDeleteSame, companies like apple should have their best interest for their customers. In this day and age people use their phones too much and any way for a person to quit should be open to the public.
DeleteYes, I think that if an app is made to try to help users to not be addicted to their phones, it should be allowed to be sold on the app store. Just because it doesn't promote phones, doesn't mean it should be shut out. This shows how much Apple really cares for their customers and their health.
DeleteI think that people use their phones to much and that companies like apple should allow people to upload apps to the app store that promote people to use their phones less. I also think children should not be aloud to have phones at such young ages, it developes bad habbits and addictions.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the earlier you allow a child to have a phone, or some type of computer, will lead to problems later in life with them spending too much time on mobile devices.
DeleteI do think that people are too addicted to their phones and most people I know have to have to check their phones every at least 10 minutes. I was shocked that they wouldn't let them have that app on their app store because it would help people get off their phones more, this kinda shows that they don't really care about the addiction they are causing they only care about the money. I think 13 or 14 would be a good age to get a phone but it should be limited, we don't need more people being addicted to their phones.
ReplyDeleteI agree Brooke, people are on their phones too often and not much is being done to change that. Companies don't care about the addictions they are causing in young kids and adults, they're concerned about making money.
DeleteYes, companies don't care about our health and well being, as long as they are making money from us, that's all that matters. It is sad because phone addictions is causing people to have social issues, health issues, etc.
DeleteI agree it is pretty weird that they didn't want that app on there app store but that just means that the want more people to spend money on there business and they don't care if people are addicted to there phones.
DeleteI think that some of us kids are getting locked into there phones. Kids now a-days are getting phones at the age of 12 and 13 and I think that is to young. Then they get addicted to there phones and thats not good.
ReplyDeleteYes. The problem is getting phones at a young age and having nothing to use them for. They need to know why they need a phone, not just because they want one.
DeleteYes i also agree, almost everyone who has a phone is on it at least 3 hours a day and that is not good!! 12 and 13 years old is too young to have a phone and parents should not be allowing kids to get them.
DeleteI agree, 12-13 years old to get a phone can be too young. They could be badly influenced by their phone and they are getting addicted to it earlier on. A lot of kids tend to not go outside or do activities due to wanting to be on their phone only and they miss out on a lot of experiences.
Deletei don't think getting a phone at a young age is really that big of a deal, the adult can take it away and go through it and put parent locks on there phone and take the phone away/limit there time on it.
ReplyDeleteI think that lot of people are addicted to their phones. I think they should allow that app because it would be really helpful.
ReplyDeleteYeah, why would you not allow that? You can't claim that a 10 second pause that happens only on phones that downloaded a certain app will have any effect on a company's profits. It makes no sense.
DeleteI think kids should have phones when there around 12 if their responsible enough. Phones for younger kids can be dangerous and they can get addicted to them at a young age and they are a lot of money for kids to have.
ReplyDeleteI agree Kodey older teens and even adults can get addicted easily and younger kids generally have even less self-control + they are less responsible and smartphones cost a lot of money to give to a kid who may just lose or break it easy.
DeleteI wouldn't get them a phone until they needed one. If they are doing things that they need to communicate with me and they're responsible enough, they'll get one. I think people are exaggerating phone use as something bad and i don't think its as bad as people think.
ReplyDeleteI agree if a kid gets a phone to young then they will have troubles communicating face to face with a person when they are older . They also need to become more responsible in order to have a phone.
DeleteI agree, giving a phone to a kid should depend on if they need it to communicate with their parents so it is easier to know that the child is okay. Once they are responsible enough to do so. If we give a child a phone I think we should teach them when and when not to use their phone. For example, don't use your phone while eating dinner.
DeleteI think it is scary that almost everyone has a phone and if they don't it's somewhere close to them. I don't think its the companies fault that young kids many adults are addicted to their phones. It is the parents fault because they are the ones buying the phones, and if you are paying about a thousand dollars for a phone you should be on it a lot to get your moneys worth.
ReplyDeletei agree if you buy a expensive phone you should/will be on it more.
DeleteI agree Harley, it's the parents fault for introducing their children to phones at such a young age. If the parents knew what was best for their child, they wouldn't get their 6 year old a phone.
DeleteI agree Harley, it's not the companies fault that young kids are addicted to their phones. It is the parents fault for getting them phones when they're young.
DeleteI think if you are a young kid and you are able to have a phone that is not good because they should enjoy the outdoors and not be on a phone playing games . Young kids should not have phones because it also can start a habit.
ReplyDeleteI agree, a kid should enjoy being a kid without worrying about a phone. Bad habits can start by introducing a phone too early.
DeleteI agree, kids are gonna be kids, go outside do something, because thats gonna be the times you remember forever you aint gonna remember about a game on your phone 20 years down the road.
DeleteI think people are addicted to their phones and it could just get worse if you give a phone to a younger kid. They will start to depend on that phone, I think the kids should enjoy being a kid and a phone shouldn't be a thought. The kid should be responsible and ready if they have a phone, and time should be limited.
ReplyDeleteI think what age that you first receive a cell phone should depend on how mature the child is. I received a cell phone at age 12 because my parents thought I was mature enough and so they can know I am okay when I walked a mile to and from school. Once my child starts leaving the house more to go around I would get them a basic phone so they could call me around age 12 and then from there I would see if they could handle having a smart phone or not. If I gave my little sister a phone I would make sure she doesn't get bad apps and tell her to not play on it while she is socializing because it is disrespectful to play on your phone while someone is trying to talk to you.
ReplyDelete