The ongoing debate between parents and their kids…When is a good time for children to receive their own phones? It is true that introducing yourself to that kind of technology freedom has its risks.

These risks include addiction, cyberbullying, and accidentally or intentionally revealing personal information on social platforms.

But phones also have perks, such as being very portable, giving kids a chance to be responsible, and giving children the ability to contact a trusted adult incase of an emergency.

What do you think? What’s a good time to receive a phone? Why?

For the kids: I get it. I’m constantly asking my parents for a phone, but still, I’ve got to admit that phones are a responsibility that some kids just aren’t ready for.

Phones give users access to tons of social platforms, which sounds great, but just one single comment and you could give a whole world of strangers private information that could easily be used against you. Not to mention that cyber bullying can become so severe that it sometimes persuades its victims to attempt suicide.

Also, phones are very addictive and could cause kids to ignore their family members and friends, spending more time staring at a tiny, glowing screen than interacting with fellow human beings.

Admit it: Phones are useful. Though it’s true that they can be addictive and even dangerous, phones can save lives. Imagine if a bus crashed. It couldn’t hurt for a kid to have a phone in order to contact their parents, and tell them his/her location.

A phone could also be useful in the event of a child missing the bus, or a kid’s after school club simply getting canceled. Besides, kids wanting phones is often a result of peer pressure.

Inheriting a phone could make a kid feel more connected to kids their age and maybe even improve their social life. Kids can keep track of time, navigate, and organize with ease. Children can even capture moments in their life via camera, and remember important events in their life forever.

Maybe the pros and cons of the phone have altered your perspective, or maybe not. Either way, phones are a useful yet distracting technology that has both assisted and endangered humankind.