My daughter will start high school next year. Nearly all her friends have smart phones already. She doesn’t have a phone. She says she doesn’t like them & doesn’t want one. Part of me thinks this is great & long may it continue. Another part of me worries that this might mean she will miss out on potential new friendships at high school. She is quite young for her age compared to lots of girls in her class. They are all busy gossiping, watching Friends on Netflix & being on TikTok whereas she just want to climb trees, collect sticks, read & make up imaginary worlds. She’s happy but I think this has made her circle of friends very small & I get the impression she’s seen as a bit eccentric by the other kids, which she is & is proud to be. It seems stupid to make her have a phone if she doesn’t want one. I’m really pleased that she is happy doing things offline & have lots of concerns about what kid’s get up to on their phones. Will there be any other kids at high school that don’t have a phone though? Will she still be able to find her tribe, or will it make her isolated?
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