At what age should a kid get a smartphone?

I honestly think that kids under 16 should really not have smartphones. I think, for me as a mother, I have already had two kids who had to get a smartphone because of school in order to keep up with WhatsApp groups. And as much as I try, you know, through Family Link and whatever else I can do to divert them from social media, it is a very hard battle to be able to convince any kid to have play time over screen time. And it's an addiction. And that's what they built it to do. So the longer you can keep them off of screens and phones is my preference. And I have my daughter, who's nine years old right now, on the dumb phone. And that's good enough. And it is a challenge because her friends are getting them. And it will be a challenge once she gets to, you know, going into seventh grade and once again dealing with the same WhatsApp issues. But if you can hold out, I think for their brains and for the function of play and curiosity and, you know, core values that I have and I want my kids to have going forward, I think it's really important to say no to phones the way in the 90s we used to say no to drugs.

Hi, my name is Naomi. I was the last person in my high school to get a phone. Back then, it was the Blackberries that were the in-phones. And I had a flip phone until I was 26, which caused some funny looks on the subway. Yes, having a smartphone is actually easier when you're lost and need to go somewhere, but that doesn't mean that that's the only question at play here. I mean, having waited to get a smartphone, I kind of wish I could have a flip phone again, but it's hard to go back once you have it. A smartphone gives you access to videos, porn, all kinds of things, and there's only so much guarding that a parent can do. I figure if there's a way to get a phone without access to YouTube or illicit websites or Facebook or anything like that, but just for maps and traveling, that would be the perfect middle ground.