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canucksfan88

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2007
560
64
sigh...do 14 year olds even need a cellphone?

i didnt get one till first year.

the only reason 14 year olds want a phone is to brag to their friends.
 

boss.king

macrumors 603
Apr 8, 2009
6,134
6,804
IMO, there are far more durable, insurable, & practical phones for a 14 year old. Most 14 year olds are VERY easily distracted, side-tracked and prone to lose, misplace, damage or destroy small electronic devices with alarming regularity.

So are some 30 year olds. Age has nothing to do with it. I got my first ipod when i was around 14/15 and it still works fine (barely scratched at all) to this day. It's up to the buyer to decide if their kid is responsible enough to have one, which many kids are.

That said, a 14 year old probably won't use it for much more than texting and games so it may not be worth it
 

CandieB

macrumors member
Sep 25, 2009
57
0
My son turns 16 in Oct. and has had an Iphone for almost 3 years. He started out using on of our old ones then he upgraded to his own plan. We have only had to replace the screen once. He is getting an Iphone 4 in a couple weeks for making honor roll all this year.
 

TRUCRACKER

macrumors 6502
May 31, 2010
349
0
VA
If he pays for the some of it. I'm 16 soon and I'm gonna have to buy the phone itself and pay for the data plan.
 

iApples

macrumors 65816
Mar 24, 2011
1,075
0
If the 14 year old is paying for the monthly bill, then yes. If not, then no. A 14 year old doesn't need an iPhone with a data plan. They should be focusing on school.
 

irDigital0l

Guest
Dec 7, 2010
2,901
0
If the 14 year old is paying for the monthly bill, then yes. If not, then no. A 14 year old doesn't need an iPhone with a data plan. They should be focusing on school.
What if they are focusing on school? Idk as long as I get good grades, I'm fine...but Im not 14 so this might be different.
 

wordoflife

macrumors 604
Jul 6, 2009
7,564
37
All of my friends (including myself) had an iPhone when they were 14. Some of my friends even had been using an iPhone before they were 14 too and were already on a newer generation of iPhone. Just depends I guess. Right now, everyone at high school has a smartphone though ... its just kind of like having a razr back in 2004.

IMO, it's not all about paying the bill. There are other [good] reasons why parents don't want to give their children these things.
 
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Reach9

macrumors 68020
Aug 17, 2010
2,417
224
In America
Well, since 14 year olds don't need a smartphone. It all depends on how mature you are. If you're a mature kid, then go for it! On top of that, if you or your parents are willing to pay data fees go for it. But if you only want apps, then save money in the long term and get an iPod Touch, and just use those 0 dollar phones as a cell phone.
Age shouldn't be the metric, it should be how mature one is which only your closest family and friends can say.
 

Thedeathbear

macrumors 6502a
Apr 18, 2010
604
2
Not even MMS? Your kid isn't gonna like you...

I have a niece right now, and I don't want her to text some guy a picture of her vag. You really can't trust a lot of kids these day. I know there are some responsible ones, but you can never be sure.
 

lilcosco08

macrumors 65816
May 27, 2010
1,224
22
Dayton
Not even MMS? Your kid isn't gonna like you...

My reaction to them would be like this
tumblr_l8x1ernL8x1qcri1xo1_250.gif
 

Coasterfanryan

macrumors regular
Nov 28, 2010
157
11
Pittsburgh Pa
iPhone? NO! I got my first real phone when I was 16 (LG Voyager) and I think that is the right age for a good feature phone. Before that I shared a Tracfone and that fit me through. Kids that young don't need iPhones. They don't need the Internet everywhere they go. heck, I'm 18 and I don't even have a smartphone. As much as I would love one, I can't afford it. If they really want an iPhone, get them an iPod touch. If it can last 2 years without breaking, then step up to the iPhone. Plus there is no data plan! I know when I was 14 I couldn't come up with at least $30 a month!

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
 

iApples

macrumors 65816
Mar 24, 2011
1,075
0
What if they are focusing on school? Idk as long as I get good grades, I'm fine...but Im not 14 so this might be different.

If they're focusing on school, that's good for them. They don't need any distractions. Most highschools don't even allow kids to use cell phones, so the iPhone really has no purpose in school, and will just become a distraction outside of it.
 

macingman

macrumors 68020
Jan 2, 2011
2,147
3
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

boss.king said:
That said, a 14 year old probably won't use it for much more than texting and games so it may not be worth it

All of my friends use their iPhone functionality to the extend it allows (Internet, dropbox, FTP, iPod, school/personal emails and more) and were 13/14/15/16 years old.
 

Phil A.

Moderator emeritus
Apr 2, 2006
5,799
3,094
Shropshire, UK
My (13 year old) daughter's got an Xperia X10 mini pro which she bought herself (we pay a £10 a month topup which gives her unlimited texts and internet as well as the £10 towards calls, and she knows anything over that she pays for herself) and an iPod touch (which she also bought herself).
She chose the Xperia because of its small size and relative robustness over the iPhone. I think in the modern age, it makes perfect sense for young people to have a mobile phone: We're not living in victorian times any more ;)
 

jfyrfytr25

macrumors 6502a
Dec 6, 2008
762
3
So you joined MR at the age of 9?

Ha, ha...... not sure I believe it. :confused:

No, if you go back and look at the date of that particular post it was in 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!

this THread is 4 YEARS OLD. they joined in 2006 and that post was in 2007 so they joined when they were 13.....not 9!!!!!


this thread was resurected by a Newbie that doesn't know how to look at dates..
 

Certinfy

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2011
933
0
London
Well I don't see what's wrong with it, I mean if they need a phone, mp3 player and something to surf the web on when about I guess having an iPhone isn't a bad idea.
 

antman2295

macrumors 6502
Nov 30, 2010
366
1
I got my nephew and niece phones when they were 8 and 10, respectively. They are on my family plan. I have bought them each three phones over the years, increasing the abilities of the phones as the kids matured. My niece is now 12, and my nephew is about to turn 14. I plan on getting them iPhones for Christmas. They have been very responsible. I think it depends on the particular child, though. Some kids are more responsible than others.

For my niece and nephew, it makes sense. They have spent hours getting to know my iPhone, and they really appreciate all it can do. Kids are very tech savvy these days, and they want more than "just a phone." I can't wait for Christmas to give them theirs! Plus, since they can't buy stuff over the iPhone other than on the WiFi iTunes music store (they would have to pay, not me), and since there are no ridiculous subscription services available, I feel safer financially (no possible surprise charges on the bill, although they have never done that to me before). The iPhone data plan is actually cheaper than the MediaNet plan I have them on now, so my bill will go down while giving them more Internet than they get now, as well. It's a win-win situation!

I have told them that this is the last time I am buying them phones (yeah, right, I can't really be sure of that - I do spoil them - but they think this is the last time), and that if they lose them or break them, they will have to replace them on their own. They know how expensive they are, and they have agreed. But like I said, it depends on the kid. If my niece and nephew were irresponsible or clueless about the value of things (especially money), then I wouldn't do it.

Wow, wish my family was awesome like you ;) (Have room for one more) Lol
 
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