How to Set Smartphone Limits for Your Kids
Few adolescent experiencesare as liberating as being granted a cell phone. The bond I felt with my first phone (a Nokia 6610), bordered on covalent, and that was sans access to today’s veritable buffet of games and social networks—not to mention the internet at large. Regardless of what you think it says about generational priorities, the accumulated data is clear: mobile access to the internet has becomeessential to the experience of being a teen , and the age when kids get connected is falling. Put Your Teen (or Pre-Teen’s) Screen Time in Context A 2016 survey from Influence Central found the average age for a first smartphone at a shade north of 10. Those phones aren’t merely being used for safety check-ins with parents, either. The same report found half of children surveyed had at least one social media account by the age of 12. The proliferation of smart devices presents unique challenges for parents, and all that increased screen time can cause con...