If you know lots of 7-year-olds, how many of them have their own phone? (the Wheel spoiler)

[IdaPrentice]

Watching the Wheel tonight, and one question was, at what age do the majority of children have their own phone. The answer was age 7. I was really surprised (and appalled). But my kids are older, so maybe I'm out of touch. Is this really true, in your experience? What percentage of the 7 yr olds you know have their own phone?

I would have guessed age 11, by the way.

I was really shocked at that too whilst watching The Wheel.

GD had an iPhone at 7 because she was taking the school coach and the school said she had to have a phone. It meant her parents could monitor where the coach was.

There was an article on the guardian which stated that a quarter of 3 year olds have their own phone. I've honestly not recovered.

I have an 8 year old and not aware of any of his peers who have a phone. Youngest I know is year 6 so 10/11, but generally it's secondary age upwards.

1 out of about 30 and they have a shit parents. I don't believe that figure, we are in a big city very diverse neighborhood.

My daughter is 12 and has no phone, she’s much happier than her peers

Fuck that! I would have found a way around that. Surely she wasn't on the bus stop on her own. She could have used a Nokia to ring her parents on the way home.

Seems unlikely to me. My daughter is 7 and I’m not aware of any of her classmates (or any other 7 year old we know) having a phone

I have a 7 yrs old, and an 11 Yr old.

I'm not aware of any 7 yrbold classmates having a phone
I'd say 10-11.

My oldest is 11 and i only know of 2 of her peers with a phone.

I was also highly shocked. It is mostly received in my area as Christmas gift the year before starting secondary. So age 10/11.

I did wonder if they counted kids who were given old phones to play games on/watch netflix. Not necessarily used to phone and text people. So the eqvilant to those kids who have tablets.

My 7yo has a phone, no SIM card. It does exactly the same thing as an iPad does except it wasn't £400, because she got it after one of us had a phone upgrade and handed our old phone over to her 🤷🏻‍♀️

Niece had one at 5 for games and messaging family, more like a Tamagotchi not for taking to school.

My 12 year old has a Nokia brick and this is what he will have until he can afford his own phone and data. He can use his iPad at home for messaging friends, under supervision. Anecdotally, none of the first year high school drama has affected my son and his friends, who also have Nokia bricks.

My son is 7 and does not have a phone, nor does he have any friends that do. He does have a tablet with an app that he can call and text family members but both parties need to add each other as contacts with a unique QR code so we can be sure he is only talking to people we allow.

I have a few very extended family members whose children had phones between 7 and 9 but these were either without a sim card to play games or in one case where parents are split and disney parent got the kids a phone each. I'm assuming to score points with the kids as she doesn't let them take it to dad's so they can call her or anything.

I, too, was shocked at this in The Wheel.
I have a 9 year old, who is not getting a phone any time soon. The only one of their classmates I do know of that has a phone is purely because they have 50/50 contact with both parents and it was a very bitter divorce, one parent felt it necessary for the child to be able to contact them whilst with the other.

I'd say it starts in Year 4 but the vast majority get them during Year 6 or in the summer holiday just after, ready for secondary.
Younger kids might occasionally have old 'phones' without SIM cards to play on at home, but not able to communicate/social media etc.

I have a 6 and 8 year old and I'm super dubious that this is real fact.

My friend’s 12 year old son is currently in great distress because he accepted an airdrop from an unknown sender on the bus ride home. It was something wildly inappropriate. He’s terrified he will get in trouble at school and as he was already being a highly sensitive anxious 12 year old, I cannot fathom what his mum was thinking. If he had a Nokia brick, none of this could have happened. Even good kids can get way out of their depth with smart phones.

This, its my old hand me down. I assume those answering yes will be in the same situ.
I doubt any of them have contracts.

I was shocked at that too and guessed 11 myself.
I don’t know any 7 year olds with a phone.

My DD 9 does not have a phone. Her peers had them at 6/7 which included TikTok and Snapchat.

I know of 8 year olds with phones so they can 'chat to their friends after school'. Ridiculous imo.

I know a few and I think it's wrong to be honest. I've always said mine won't get them until day one of year 7. There's no need to beforehand.

My 7 year old told me last year (so when 6) that multiple classmates have phones but I assumed it to be old phones of their parents do they can play the odd game or whatever. I have no evidence either way.
My 10 year old is in the minority at not having her own phone (but she does have access to one). I know some of her classmates have been posting tik toks and YouTube videos for at least 2 years. My daughter showed me some a few years back and I reported to school as one was a get ready with me including just underwear, leaving her house and walking to school in her uniform. Whole class got a "talk"