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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: 4, Interesting) by J053 on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:32AM (5 children)

    by J053 (3532) <dakineNO@SPAMshangri-la.cx> on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:32AM (#528241) Homepage
    Here's a thought - if you don't want your under-13yo kid to have a smartphone, then just don't give one to him/her! There aren't many under-13s who can buy their own. This looks like some wimpy fuck who is afraid to face the consequences of telling his kid he doesn't want to buy him/her an iPhone, and wants to be able to blame it on THE LAW!!!
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by lentilla on Tuesday June 20 2017, @01:00AM (1 child)

    by lentilla (1770) on Tuesday June 20 2017, @01:00AM (#528268)

    Maybe this one dad can give his new law a trial run in his own home: tell his child that "somebody" made a law that made it illegal for children to have a 'phone. Now he gets two tantrums: the first when he takes the phone away, and the second when the child discovers the removal is in force until age thirteen.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @02:09AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @02:09AM (#528292)

      And if he's not a dad... Snip the sucker so he doesn't procreate more idiots.

  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday June 20 2017, @07:31AM (2 children)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Tuesday June 20 2017, @07:31AM (#528363) Homepage
    How can any 13 year old ever by a smartphone? Don't phones come with connection contracts with service providers in the USA? Even if they don't, much of the functionality, such as cellular data, aren't available without a connection contract. Aren't services used before they're billed - that's credit?

    How can a 13 year old get credit and enter into a contract, it makes no sense.
    --
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    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @07:37AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @07:37AM (#528365)

      There are phones without contracts, and you can buy them (and minutes and service time cards) with cash. Some of them are pretty cheap. Even smartphones.

      But there are plenty of things a child could get that a parent may not want them to have. Check up on them occasionally and don't be too paranoid.

    • (Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday June 20 2017, @08:48AM

      by TheRaven (270) on Tuesday June 20 2017, @08:48AM (#528387) Journal
      Not sure about the USA, but in the UK it's been a long time since you got the best deal going for a contract vs pre-pay for anything other than the highest volume users. I pay 3p/minute for calls, 2p/text, and 1p/MB for data. Most of my data use is via WiFi so I don't run up much of a bill through that. I used to make most calls via a SIP provider, but now my mobile provider is cheaper for anything other than international calls.
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