Do most middle/high schoolers (in school) have smart phones now?

[AK_Mom4]

high schoolers - definitely.  All three of ours have smartphones with data.  They got cell phones once they started high school and we needed to coordinate drop off/pick ups with three kids in activities.

 

DD12 doesn't have a phone, but several of her friends do - particularly the ones involved in sports or evening activities.  We will probably need to get DD a phone when she starts high school so she can call for rides and coordinate her activities.

 

And, yes, all the phones are smartphones.  We share a data plan, so they get to benefit from me needing data on my phone.

[mommymilkies]

From my experience at soccer, I'd say about half do, that I've *seen*.

[Orthodox6]

I don't assume anything about what other people might or might not own. Not even a car.

 

Experience varies, of course. In this very large metroplex, what you call "baggage" is rampant. I have seen the ill-effects. I'm glad for your family if the local society differs from other places.

[Kim in Appalachia]

In this area only some of the kids have smartphones, most have "dumb" phones.  The area is poor, and there are not many carriers that work here. You can't even get the plan Walmart offers (for smartphones, you can get their talk/text plan).  Only Verizon and ATT work here, so that limits what people can get.  Only the most expensive plans are available and people here can not afford it.   

 

My oldest dd has a smartphone (she's in college).  It's on our plan.  My next dd has a dumb phone. To add a line, not even a smartphone, is $30 on Verizon, then another $10 to access the data plan.  My dd has an iPod, so anywhere she can connect with wi-fi, it works.  Because of that, she hardly needs a phone.  She does everything on that iPod, which is basically and iPhone without the phone ability.  

[Pretty in Pink]

My teen had a smart phone but we revoked it because he would not follow our rules about it. He now has a pre-paid "dumb" phone. It costs $25/mo and he babysits in exchange for us paying the bill.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Around here, most kids who have a phone will have a smart phone. This includes elementary school kids as well.

[momofkhm]

Most of my teens' friends have smart phones.  Mine don't.  But we do live in a affluent area.  Cars are expensive ones.  Houses are expensive.  So smart phones do and don't surprise me.  

 

My oldest (now in college) bought herself a itouch.  As long as she has wifi, she's good.  I recommended my middle do the same.  

 

Dh and I refuse to pay the data fee.  It's not the phone itself, it's the fee!

[MarinesWife]

My 15 year old had a dumb phone for 3 years because of family circumstances. We went in to t-mobile to get a new one and to get my son age 12 one as he is away from the house a lot also. The smart phone was cheaper! And they both still cost the same $10 each. So this could also be how kids are just ending up with them. I had no intention on getting them smart phones. It has come in handy now.

[jewellsmommy]

I work in a high school and all my students have smart phones. They use them for school work.

 

My friend told me about a smart idea the local church had for the confirmation classes. They had made a phone daycare. A piece of fabric with pockets for them to put it in.

 

But yes all of them have smart phones

 

That sounds so cute. Our church's Sunday School curriculum provider has decided to embrace the smart phone movement. They have made an ap that allows the kids to follow along on their phone or tablet instead of paper books if they want too. They can take notes and flip between different versions of the Bible and see all the same stuff that would be in the books.

 

My dd is now 6th but does not have a phone. The only other youth are homeschooled as well but they have smartphones, ipod touches, tablets etc.

[Tammi K]

For the longest time we had ONE cell phone. Then when the first started working at a part time job, we got a 'kids' phone. Whoever needed it took it. Gradually, as the kids got older and started part time jobs, they got a phone that we paid for until they graduated from college - and none were smart phones. Just this past Monday, ds(19) paid to upgrade his non-smart phone to an iphone - on his dime. DD(15) has one ( non-smart) to call us to arrange rides, etc and she has texting enabled but she won't get a smart phone until she can afford one. We're mean that way.  :001_unsure:

It really bothers me to see a group of kids who, although sharing physical space, are so engaged with their virtual world that they ignore those right next to them.

[Mommy22alyns]

I think pretty much every girl Rebecca's age or older on team has a smart phone.  She has a tiny dumb phone.

[Mrs Mungo]

My almost 13 year old does not have a phone at all. Many of his schooled friends with 2 working parents have smart phones. Most of his homeschooled friends do not. I'm at the border if getting him a dumb phone just because he has enough drop off activities now that it might be worth it. Especially for things like theater rehearsals can release early, etc. He just got his first e-mail address, so I will allow him to have skype and FB when he turns 13. I don't think he'll use either much. I'd rather he gets a taste of social media while I still own all the passwords.

 

I don't get young kids having unlimited texting or smart phones. We are actually really comfortable financially, but that seems like a pretty extravagant expense. I don't personally have a smart phone - I have a dumb phone.

 

My high school aged (not in traditional school) girls have smart phones, so do most of their friends. They can manage emails, look up directions, text with moms about babysitting jobs, etc. It was only $30/month to add them to our plan and the phones were free. My girls do have unlimited texting, but their friends literally live all around the globe-east coast, west coast, Japan, Germany, Hawaii, etc. It's an easy way for them to communicate with their friends.

[G5052]

All dumb, pay-as-you-go phones here.  I worked in the security field before kids, and it isn't something that we're ready to embrace at this point.  For us, all we need is available on the dumb phones with fewer security concerns.  We'll probably be forced to them at some point, but that's where we are now.  And our investment in the actual phones and monthly bills are almost nothing.  We don't do Facebook either.

 

YMMV...

 

[LibraryLover]

My teen doesn't, but I would  like to get her one. I think they are good tools. I appreciate that Apple phones talk to each other;  the texts go through so quickly. This would be good in an emergency.  I also like the GPS  feature.  Another good thing in an emergency.

[AimeeM]

My daughter had a phone even when she homeschooled...

Given, not a smart phone, but she did have (and still has) a basic cell phone for talking and texting.

[AimeeM]

My daughter had a phone even when she homeschooled...

Given, not a smart phone, but she did have (and still has) a basic cell phone for talking and texting.

[Running the race]

If you saw my two boys with their phones, you would think they have smartphones. They actually have inexpensive prepaid AT&T Gophone plans with hand-me-down smartphones. They switched the sim cards and turned the data off. They can only use data on Wifi.

[mom2scouts]

Most of the middle and high school age students I encounter do have smart phones  My college age son lets me know on a regular basis that his basic phone embarrasses him, but I've told him he can have a smart phone when he can pay for it and the data plan.  My dh and I still have very old flip phones!

[6packofun]

My 12yo ds was the *only* kid in his large class at church to not pull out a smartphone for the Bible app.  LOL  He does not have a phone and won't for at least another year.

[momofkhm]

I can add to the smart phone phenom.  Both my girls were invited to a sweet 16 party.  Theme was Amazing Race.  The mom got other parents to drive (Thanks goodness!!).  Girls were separated into groups of 4 or 5 and given clues.  Some clues required a smart phone.  Like the one with longitude and latitude for where to go.  I was one of the drivers.  (My girls won!)  Before we left birthday girl's house, mom asked if every group had at least one smart phone - only one group needed one.  

 

(Wonderful time.  I knew none of the girls in my car.  We got way ahead because of a wrong turn and we happened to see the person we were looking for! Then he was a point at another stop and we had to wait for him.  Thank goodness parent drivers.  WE were speeding down the rode!  I can't imagine how fast the girls would have gone.)

[cuckoomamma]

Our older dd is 12 and every single one of the girls at her dance school has a smart phone and has had one for at least 2 years.  Dd has a prepaid smart phone with no data plan.  Dh is the same and I have a flip phone with no data but can text. 

 

We don't even pay about $40/year for all three of us. 

 

Dd feels very left out and sad that she is the only one who doesn't have an iphone, but we just can't afford it. 

 

The girls are always comparing when the newest phone comes out and they rush out to get a new one.  I agree with the poster who said that they're the new "sneakers". 

[Library Momma]

Where I live you start seeing kids with phones in fourth or fifth grade.  Most kids have smart phones.  The ones that don't (like mine) have dumb phones and ipods/tablets (for apps like instagram, facetime, kik, games, etc.). 

[DawnM]

Maybe one of those girls will sell her their "outdated" iphone and she can get a PAYO SIM for it and use it.

 

I could never get away with $40/year.  I talk too much!

 

 

Our older dd is 12 and every single one of the girls at her dance school has a smart phone and has had one for at least 2 years.  Dd has a prepaid smart phone with no data plan.  Dh is the same and I have a flip phone with no data but can text. 

 

We don't even pay about $40/year for all three of us. 

 

Dd feels very left out and sad that she is the only one who doesn't have an iphone, but we just can't afford it. 

 

The girls are always comparing when the newest phone comes out and they rush out to get a new one.  I agree with the poster who said that they're the new "sneakers". 

 

[Heather in Neverland]

My 15yo does not have a cellphone and doesn't want one. But he also thinks facebook is dumb and wants nothing to do with it so he is probably not your typical teen.

[Wheres Toto]

My oldest didn't get a smart phone until she was in college and would be using it to do stuff for classes.   But her old "dumb" phone didn't look that different from her first smart phone - it was the same size, had a touch screen and a camera.  The only difference was we didn't have to buy the data plan on her old phone.  Anyone looking at it wouldn't know whether it was a smart phone or not.  Now she has an Iphone because she was able to get the 4S for nothing (except a two year contract of course).

 

[FeFe]

I think every middle and high-schooler I know has a smart phone. The exception is my daughter, who has a regular phone. Actually, she has no phone right now because her phone broke last night. Honestly, we will probably get her a smart phone by the end of the year. She already uses an iPod and an iPad. It would be easier if she just had one device. We use the smartphones for so many things now, family-wise.

[LibraryLover]

 I've read Apple has good parental controls.

 

 

[joannqn]

My 11 and 13 year olds do not have any kind of phone . When my oldest goes somewhere and I want her to have a phone, I give her mine.  My 13 year old has an ipod that she won from youth group.  My 11 year old has an ipod that he bought with his own money that is currently locked with parental controls to allow only music to be used on it.  

[bettyandbob]

I put my observations earlier. I just mentioned this to dd. she said in English the teacher will say to take out your phones and bring up the dictionary app. Then the teacher has to leave the room and retrieve a dictionary from a storage closet for dd to use. Dd says she is the only student in that class who needs an actual dictionary. All of her core classes are preIB/honors. I have noted an income difference between adv classes and standard classes. Perhaps if she wherein standard classes, there would be kids without smart phones.

[LMV]

All three of our older girls do have some version of a smart phone. We had planned to get our five year old a phone in preparation for the part day part week kindergarten program she started this September.  My husband took her to pick one out and she really wanted the new Samsung Galaxy Active one because it seemed indestructible.   We're still kind of in this mode where we give her most of the things she really wants because for so long she didn't want anything and even now she really isn't wanting an excessive amount.  Her phone (and her nine year old sister's phone) has parental controls activated and she gets it from us and returns it to us so she has somewhat limited access but the novelty still hasn't worn off and she really likes it.  I admit if I was just hearing this story from a friend I might think it was a little excessive but knowing our daughter I think this has actually been a good thing so I'm using this as a reminder that judging others' parenting decisions is a generally bad plan.

[higginszoo]

Among my kids' friends, it's 50/50, certainly in high school, probably more like 30% of their middle school friends have smart phones.  My dc have iTouches that give them the same data access as long as there's open wifi (there is in school, and dd is encouraged to use her phone and/or iTouch to keep track of appointments, assignments, etc.)   Since most teen communication seems to be by text (even dd's work supervisors are in their 50s and 60s and only text), a phone is pretty essential -- even dd's teachers use texts.  But dumb phones with qwerty keyboards work just fine for my teens.

[TravelingChris]

My youngest doesn't have a smart phone.  But she has a tablet (Nexus 7) and a navigation device in her car.  With those two additions, she doesn't have and doesn't want a smarter phone than she has.  She likes her phone and likes that she can quickly text on it.  It still has a camera and of course, the phone.  Her tablet gives her apps that she may need.  The navigation device was cheaper than buying her another phone plus upgrade plus extra data charge per month. As it now stands, I only pay 10 a month for all her texting and calling.

 

As to others- they have smart phones or regular phones.  I don't think any teens I teach don't have some type of cell phone and they can all receive texts.     Oh and I am one who takes out her kindle at church and uses the Bible on it. 

[NorthwestMom]

When we switched carriers to AT&T, we were given the opportunity to buy iPhone 4s at $1.00 each.  This was when the newer version had come out and nobody wanted 4s anymore. So, my 11yo does have an iPhone and it was way cheaper than any other option. She and her 14yo brother (who saved and paid for his own, better smartphone) are happy with their phones and I never hear them talk about other kids' phones, positive or negative, or what other people have in general.  It appears some people see it as elitist but we are comfortable with the choice we made for our family and I refuse to care what other people think. :)

[Hoot]

Most of the ones I know have smart phones.  DS14 had a regular flip phone because he was starting to travel more for karate and needed to get hold of us on occasion.  This weekend we went to upgrade all of our phones and it turned out that it would actually be more expensive up front to get him a flip phone as opposed to a smart phone.  DH and I were upgrading to the smart phones for $1 each so it just made sense to get all the same ones.  We've disabled his internet access outside of our home WiFi range though and all of the purchasable apps and such require a parental pass code.  He's a pretty responsible kid and we keep relatively tight reigns on the phone and its contents so we don't have any concerns.