Should smart phones be banned for under 16s?

I think banning won't work and i'm not sure its the way forward any way, I would be more in favour of restricting social media access to 18 or 16 at a push when i feel they would be mature enough to handle it.
 
R.C.Anderson said:
16 is far too old for a ban (if there was one). Younger, maybe, but why not just parent properly & then them having a smartphone isn't an issue?
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I love this sweeping statement. You can parent and instil the correct ethic all you want but when impressionable teens get brainwashed by social media it is very hard to monitor.

Alcohol, smoking and even sex are all a walk in the park because you can have influence as long as you are open.

Social media you can do spot checks all you want as a parent but it is very difficult to parent because of how easy it is to make it secret and before you know it something serious has happened.

Alcohol and smoking have age restrictions on them. Smart phone is still massively new and the legislation and law is years behind. Even the police have their hands tied behind their back.
 
Blanket ban? No, the only thing it would achieve is increase the populace's comfort with ratcheting government restrictions on freedom.

Ban in schools? Schools should be able to do what they like (I think the vast, vast majority would choose to ban them).
 
Ban in schools - or at least giving schools who want to ban phones the tools and support to do so is all that is needed. everything else is just silly noise. the internet didn't break society - people used the internet to break society by being half wits.

now if we could ban half wits from the internet we'd be making progress. problem with that is the sheer number of half wits is really frightening.
 
They shouldn't be allowed in schools as far as I'm concerned.

I know it sounds like some crazy talk but I think certain countries are going to control the content their youth can access and ensure they maintain a level of intelligence. Countries like ours develop into total losers incapable of functioning.
 
Mobile phones are a curse really, even in the gym I just see people constantly staring at them. Saying that, I panic if I go out in the car and forget it. I'm cursed too.
 
adam cool dude said:
I love this sweeping statement. You can parent and instil the correct ethic all you want but when impressionable teens get brainwashed by social media it is very hard to monitor.

Alcohol, smoking and even sex are all a walk in the park because you can have influence as long as you are open.

Social media you can do spot checks all you want as a parent but it is very difficult to parent because of how easy it is to make it secret and before you know it something serious has happened.

Alcohol and smoking have age restrictions on them. Smart phone is still massively new and the legislation and law is years behind. Even the police have their hands tied behind their back.
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I kinda disagree. Parents are giving kids free access to SIM plan contracts THEY pay for. You have to be 18 to take out a contract and pass an ID check which you can't do under 18. Don't take out a contract and the kid has no access to anything. You can get a 500mb or lower plan for emergency use outside the home but not enough to actually do anything with apart from calls/texts. Sure there are ways around it but just stop enabling it in the first place.

The amount of additional plans I come across at work which are for children with unlimited data is ridiculous.

WIFI at home can be restricted as you like and monitored
 
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Bassmansam said:
Well where else would they live? I can't think inside of your head can i?
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By living inside our heads I mean we think to much and not just do things.

I knew smartphones were going to be a problem when people started messaging each other while sitting at the same table. These were adults. So it's easy to see how kids think it's normal when it's abnormal behaviour.
 
BowdonUK said:
By living inside our heads I mean we think to much and not just do things.

I knew smartphones were going to be a problem when people started messaging each other while sitting at the same table. These were adults. So it's easy to see how kids think it's normal when it's abnormal behaviour.
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thats mad, do you often see that?
 
adam cool dude said:
Alcohol and smoking have age restrictions on them. Smart phone is still massively new and the legislation and law is years behind. Even the police have their hands tied behind their back.
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Smart phones aren’t all that new. A 16-year old wasn’t even born when the iPhone was first released. Spurs have even won a trophy more recently than when the first iPhone was released!

Smart phones are useful tools. Education is better than prohibition.
 
My 3 year old has a smart phone (iPhone SE 2022), she’s had it since she was 2 and HAS to have it with her at all times so that we can receive her blood glucose readings when she’s not with us (nursery, babysitter, etc), and so that the same carers have a device that they can use to monitor blood glucose and administer insulin through her pump.

Banning a type of technology based on the age of the user is ridiculous. Just because some parents are useless with tech and lack the skill (or drive) to sort out the required parental controls doesn’t mean we should all be punished.

You can’t petition out idiots.
 
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