Should there be a law banning smart phones for kids under let's say under 16 ir 18?

[QuarterMillionMan]

With the recent developments with facebook showing how detrimental it can be for teenage girls and bullying expanding beyond schools and now into the homes on kids smart phones, I think banning smart phones for kids under 16 or 18 might be forthcoming. Much like how smoking or drinking have age restrictions of 18 or 21. Vaping and/or weed also comes to mind.

[srblanco7]

With the recent developments with facebook showing how detrimental it can be for teenage girls and bullying expanding beyond schools and now into the homes on kids smart phones, I think banning smart phones for kids under 16 or 18 might be forthcoming. Much like how smoking or drinking have age restrictions of 18 or 21. Vaping and/or weed also comes to mind.

As much as I concur with the sentiment of keeping kids off social media, my initial reaction to your post is that it should be a parenting topic rather than something involving state and/or federal legislatures. Not an expert on smartphones, but seems like improvements to parental controls - limiting app/web site and/or app store access could achieve a similar outcome.

We've very much tried to educate our kids on social media, tried limiting screen time overall, etc. In general, we've had some success with this though I say this with the recognition that there's always room for improvement.

Personally, I'm not a fan of social media and suggest that the damage it has and continues to inflict on people and society as a whole goes well beyond just teens. To the extent that this is a "government" topic - I'd suggest that it be viewed from that perspective (with consideration that limits on free speech can be a slippery slope).

[Jluke]

You will have to ban computers too.

[disneysteve]

You will have to ban computers too.

You beat me to it. I was going to say the same thing. Social media isn’t only on phones.

We all live online these days whether it’s a phone or tablet or laptop or desktop.

The problem here isn’t the device.

[kork13]

As much as I concur with the sentiment of keeping kids off social media, my initial reaction to your post is that it should be a parenting topic rather than something involving state and/or federal legislatures.

Totally agree. This isn't something for government to legislate away -- this is a parenting issue. If this is a concern for parents, they (we) need to parent our children in that way.

[bjl584]

That would be incredibly hard to pull off.
As others have said, in a ideal world the parents would police this

[disneysteve]

So often I hear parents say things like, “It’s terrible. My kid is on her phone all night long. “

Well mom, it’s kind of your responsibility to manage that. Take the phone away at bedtime. Monitor what apps are installed. Use the parental controls. And talk to your kids. Know what’s going on in their lives. And foster an environment where they know they can come to you any time for any reason without being judged or criticized.

[Scallywag]

With the recent developments with facebook showing how detrimental it can be for teenage girls and bullying expanding beyond schools and now into the homes on kids smart phones, I think banning smart phones for kids under 16 or 18 might be forthcoming. Much like how smoking or drinking have age restrictions of 18 or 21. Vaping and/or weed also comes to mind.

Kids also use smart phones and computers for research on term papers, to study, to take practice tests & exams,

My daughter is on Facebook to a very minimal extent, to participate in her school's group where they post announcements, developments etc. She is very shy and socially awkward, not a big poster, and feels much better communicating via social media than in person. Bullying on social media is merely an extension of good, old-fashioned, school yard bullying. Address the causes, because even if you clamp down on one "mean" (social media), it won't abate until the reason it exists is eliminated.

Social media, the Internet, etc are now a part of our daily life. This is the Digital Age and I am afraid that we can no longer return to a 100% analog life - well, maybe some of us, but many of us can probably not. So best to deal with it as much as possible because life is only going to get more and more "digital" with each passing decade from here on out.

[Fishindude77]

Totally agree. This isn't something for government to legislate away -- this is a parenting issue. If this is a concern for parents, they (we) need to parent our children in that way.

Yep !!

[rennigade]

Totally agree. This isn't something for government to legislate away -- this is a parenting issue. If this is a concern for parents, they (we) need to parent our children in that way.

Why not? Entire generations are being manipulated with social media. Seems like this is the exact thing people should want the government to regulate. Not sure when social media really took off but it would be interesting to know how many people have died as a direct result of social media. Depression, bullying, suicide, not to mention how heated people have become with politics. Social media is fueling this fire and its burning out of control.

As for the OP's question, I dont think anyone should be on social media. Its not good for you whether you want to admit it or not. It once was a place to "stay in touch with friends." That ship has sailed and if you still believe that you're naïve. In case you havent figured it out yet, big tech companies like facebook, google, twitter are running the planet. The amount of influence they have on people is mind boggling.

[ua_guy]

Too complex of an issue for any legislative ban. And it's not just the kids, it's the adults too. If adults aren't using the internet/apps/devices in healthy ways, the kids definitely aren't. In some ways, this focus on children is a distraction from the larger issue of what Facebook and the likes have created for both children and adults: A vicious cycle of dopamine addiction. It's not that children and their issues with the internet are any less important, but what I'm saying is that if the issue isn't looked at holistically for all ages, we're doing ourselves a disservice.

That's my perspective. I grew up in the Wild West of the internet. In the early 90's, I was a 10 year old with a modem, and my parents were none the wiser. Most of their generation still doesn't get it, and we, their children, are now looking after them on the internet, and how they use it. And some of the stuff they do is actually very scary, because they don't know.

[rennigade]

I grew up in the Wild West of the internet. In the early 90's, I was a 10 year old with a modem, and my parents were none the wiser. Most of their generation still doesn't get it, and we, their children, are now looking after them on the internet, and how they use it. And some of the stuff they do is actually very scary, because they don't know.

People forget those days. You could run into some dark things online at that time. Practically nothing was being filtered, so use your imagination. Once the crack down happens (hopefully) to these social media companies, we'll look back and view it the same way, that it was the wild west.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I would not ban laptops and desktops since those devices are too big to carry around but I would ban smart phones and maybe even ipads or tablets under 10" due to its portability. Watches too should be banned for kids. As for parents it is a parenting issue at home but once the kid is out of the home and at school or out and about with friends I would be in agreement with 16 and above. As I mentioned above smoking, drinking has age requirements so should portable smart devices be regulated.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Voting, marriage, and driving are all good examples where regulation is need for protection. I would regular smart phones as well for the harm it could do to mitigate the harm to our kids.

[disneysteve]

I would not ban laptops and desktops since those devices are too big to carry around but I would ban smart phones and maybe even ipads or tablets under 10" due to its portability. Watches too should be banned for kids. As for parents it is a parenting issue at home but once the kid is out of the home and at school or out and about with friends I would be in agreement with 16 and above. As I mentioned above smoking, drinking has age requirements so should portable smart devices be regulated.

Do you realize that in schools across the country kids are all given tablets as early as elementary school first grade? How exactly do you ban a device that is 100% integrated into school curriculums from day one?