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posted by n1 on Monday June 19 2017, @11:13PM   Printer-friendly
from the think-of-the-children dept.

We see smartphones everywhere. In school hallways, at the family dinner table and plugged in at the bedside table.

But how young is too young to be constantly connected to the rest of the world through sleek apps, social media and video messaging?

One Colorado man has decided that age 13 seems like a good cutoff.

Tim Farnum is leading the charge on a proposed ballot initiative in Colorado that would be the first of its kind in the country. Farnum's proposal would ban the sale of smartphones to children younger than 13, or more likely, to parents who intend to give the smartphone to kids in that age bracket.

Farnum, a Denver-area anesthesiologist, is the founder of Parents Against Underage Smartphones, or PAUS, the nonprofit group pushing the proposal.

Source: Coloradoan.com

Also reported by: The Washington Post

Initial Fiscal Impact Statement: Colorado.gov [PDF]


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by jasassin on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:06AM (4 children)

    by jasassin (3566) <jasassin@gmail.com> on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:06AM (#528221) Homepage Journal

    Another unenforceable law. Ranks up there with the sodomy laws.

    Besides, if he wants his children to be ignorant he should read this:

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3156878/boy-4-saves-his-mum-by-using-her-fingerprint-to-unlock-phone-and-call-police-after-she-collapsed/ [thesun.co.uk]

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  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:20AM (3 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:20AM (#528228) Journal

    Story seems bogus.

    You do not have to unlock an iphone (or android) to call 911 (or 999 in the uk).

    Maybe he didn't know that, or maybe he didn't know how to dial, which is why he asked siri.

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    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:27AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:27AM (#528237)

      Of course he didn't know. If you tell a 4 year old he can dial 911 with a locked phone, he'll be doing it all the time and be a nuisance to the dispatcher. Back when I was a kid and payphones still existed, we miscreants would dial 0 on public payphones and shout swearwords at the operator just because the call was free.

    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:31AM (1 child)

      by krishnoid (1156) on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:31AM (#528240)

      You do not have to unlock an iphone (or android) to call 911 (or 999 in the uk).

      You do, however, have to be able to remember the number [youtube.com].

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:37AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:37AM (#528247)

        There's a party in my head
        Won't let me go to bed
        Have to stay up instead
        Go to the party in my head

        Though you may call 999
        They will hang up every time
        It's too late they're here with me
        Off their heads and on the beat