I Won’t Buy My Teenagers Smartphones

Even if they AREN'T bullied for lack, they'll miss out on all the socialization. When I was a teen people talked on the phone, they hung out at the mall. I barely did. When not at school, I stayed at home to care for my younger brother and make sure dinner was made (child of a working single mom). I went out of state to my dad's place every summer, so I never spent summer vacation around my school peers.

Now I'm an adult, and I don't have close friends. I never have. I don't know how to open up to people, or how to hang out with people where it isn't an obligation on one part or the other. I remain aloof, then desperately overshare (case in point), then feel awkward and embarrassed and withdraw. I've had two serious relationships in my life...and got married both times.

Today's kids won't be talking on the phone, they won't be texting, they won't even be tweeting, they'll be snapping or instagramming or any number of things. They'll be sharing the experiences they have in common and generating those experiences, and for many, MANY of them those experiences will be around smartphone tech.

And this author has decided their kids don't need that shared experience. That comes at a cost.

All I can see, reading this, is how similar that sounds to being grounded for the new normal teen. Its complete social isolation, and I hope the backlash the author receives from this article gets considered instead of some snarky 'your anger means I'm right' response.

> He would eat an entire bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos—the party-size bag—if left alone with the opportunity

This is hardly an example of an inability to make good decisions. This just shows the inability of these parents to let their kids learn on their own, and is creating the dependent teens they're trying to prevent.

Like before it was TV, then Radio, then... books maybe?

I guess the question is, is the internet worse or more addictive than these other distractions.

I remember having had deals with my parents like: If I pay half, they give me the other half as a birthday present. And my parents could definitly afford it. The neighbour kid, whose father worked for my father after he gave them the place when they sought shelter (Bosnian war refugees), got literally everything he wanted. Our parents explained to us why his parents do that and why they don't. And although we also would have wished for these things we understood.

This is the responsible way to act in my opinion. It shows your kid that they really need to do something if they want something. It teaches them to value the thing that they got and if they spend their pocket money on rubbish it teaches them not to spend money on rubbish. And if it is something that makes sense for them to have (e.g. teaching material, books, a raspberry pi you can still be generous).