When Should Children Have Their Own Smartphone?

Today's parents are concerned about their children's screen time. Fully 71 percent of parents with children under age 12 are worried about their child spending too much time in front of a screen, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Two out of three parents say parenting is harder today than it used to be, with many citing technology as the reason. Despite these concerns, the great majority of parents with a child aged 5 to 11 say their child uses tablet computers and smartphones, as do nearly half of parents with a child under age 5...

Parents with a child aged 5 to 11
80% say their child uses/interacts with a tablet computer
63% say their child uses/interacts with a smartphone

Parents with a child under age 5
48% say their child uses/interacts with a tablet computer
55% say their child uses/interacts with a smartphone

What is the appropriate age for children to have their own device? When it comes to smartphones, 73 percent of parents think a child should be 12 or older, with 45 percent giving the nod to children aged 12 to 14 and another 28 percent wanting to wait until a child is aged 15 to 17. Parents are more lax when it comes to tablet computers. Fully 65 percent think children can have their own tablet computer before the age of 12, while 31 percent say the child should be 12 or older.

Source: Pew Research Center, Parenting Children in the Age of Screens