Phones for DC earlier than planned?

[WomanIsTaken]

Is anyone else considering getting a phone for their DC earlier than originally planned in order for them to stay connected to friends?
DC1 is in Y5 and we'd initially thought she'd get one in the last term of Y6 to prepare for secondary school.
However, the thing that's been keeping them upbeat during school closure is being allowed to message and talk with friends on my phone.
I'm trying to decide whether it's worth just getting her a cheap second hand phone on a SIM only. I'd still be monitoring content and restricting usage. It would keep my phone from buzzing and my own messages being buried by an avalanche of her friends' messages.
But I'm also reluctant as monitoring it will be another thing to do, and I suppose I feel like it's moving things along in terms of growing up a bit more quickly than I thought we would.
Anyone else's DC getting phones 'early'?

Tricky one. I know a couple of my DCs' friends in Y6 have got phones earlier than planned. My kids (Sept-born Y6s) got phones for Christmas this year and in the current circumstances I'm really glad they did. It is another thing to monitor, but possibly worth it for the trade-off with access to your own phone?
I agree in normal circumstances Y5 feels very young to have a phone to me, but obviously these aren't normal circumstances!