[quote HopeForTheBestExpectTheWorst]Actually, yes I do think it's pretty standard that most 13yos will have a phone, and a watch (doesn't have to be a FitBit but that suggests that there is at least some interest in activity and not just sitting at a screen all day as has been repeatedly suggested), a bike which again is not tech at all.
Most kids will have either their own or access to a laptop/pc - how on earth could htey have done homeschooling this last year and half otherwise?
The only really techy things which might not be standard imo are the Switch and PS5, but again, many, many teens have a gaming console of some kind and if that is something that they particularly enjoy then having a second handheld device surely isn't all that astonishing?
The judging and moral outrage on this thread is ridiculous.
Also, the cost is relative to how much you have or want to spend. So again, yes, I reckon most 13yos will have a phone, a watch, a gaming console of some kind and their own laptop or tablet.
In fact, I've just looked up the gov. statistics:
88% of 12-year-olds own phone
At age six, 85% of children say they have access to a tablet at home, and 40% have their own.
And over 50% age 12 have own laptop
From here: yougov.co.uk/topics/education/articles-reports/2020/03/13/what-age-do-kids-get-phones-tablet-laptops-[/quote]
You're determined to miss the point. Sure, most 13 year olds have a phone of some sort and a bike. But they do not all have both those AND their own laptop AND their own PS5 AND their own Switch AND a Fitbit.
I think you know that and the fact that you are quoting stats about one of those things instead of commenting about the total is weird. There are 13 year olds in the UK that have none of those things, and not even enough food to eat. The blind privilige of insisting that all teens have every new and expensive tech is too much.