So, what’s the right age to introduce Technology to children? I remember getting our first family computer, a custom built computer that cost an arm and a leg – that was around 1991! Internet? Nope, that didn’t happen until we upgraded to an IBM Aptiva a few years later and with blistering speed – a 14.4K baud modem via Prodigy internet services. I was about 12 at the time – this was when I was introduced to my first technology if you don’t count our Nintendo SNES. My first cell phone? Well it wasn’t until I was 19 and that was a flip phone that I paid for.

Today, technology has matured to the point where it’s an expected part of life and internet is charged like a household utility – use too much? Get charged more. One recent stat that really hit home for me was that the average age for a child getting their first smartphone is 10.3 years! A smartphone is arguably a full fledge powerful computer in the palm of your hand. Kids are not getting basic phone for calling – no the expectations that we’ve all set for our children is a similar or same model as mom and dad.

Here are some stats from the article:

• The average age for a child getting their first smartphone is now 10.3 years
• Tablets have surged from 26% to 55% usage as kids’ device of choice during car rides. Smartphones trail at 45% (up from 39% in 2012).
• 64% of kids have access to the Internet via their own laptop or tablet, compared to just 42% in 2012
• 39% of kids get a social media account at 11.4 years. 11% got a social media account when they were younger than 10.
• While 85% accessed the Internet from a room shared with the family in 2012, that number dropped to 76% today, and 24% now have “private” access from their bedrooms (compared to 15% in 2012.)

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The average age for a child getting their first smartphone is now 10.3 years