Life Even BetterThis counterintuitive advice about kids and phones makes a lot of senseThe case for giving one to your 3-year-old is not as outlandish as it sounds.by Adam Clark EstesSep 4, 2025, 10:30 AM UTCShareGiftPhones are a fact of life in the 21st century, and even if you try to keep them away from your kids, their friends will get devices, possibly without any safeguards, before you know it. Glenn Harvey for VoxAdam Clark Estes is a senior technology correspondent at Vox and author of the User Friendly newsletter.
Hes spent 15 years covering the intersection of technology, culture, and politics at places like The Atlantic, Gizmodo, and Vice.If youre a parent, youve probably grappled with the question of when your kid should get a smartphone. Theres a nationwide movement, Wait Until 8th, that argues that devices should be kept out of kids hands until theyre deep into middle school.
Some families manage to hold out even longer. Andrew Przybylski, a professor of technology and human behavior at the University of Oxfords Oxford Internet Institute and father of two, has a different idea.The kids have always had phones since they were 3, he told me a few months ago.
I almost fell off my chair.User FriendlyA weekly dispatch to make sure tech is working for you, instead of overwhelming you. From senior technology correspondent Adam Clark Estes.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.
*Reporting by Vox.*
This counterintuitive advice about kids and phones makes a lot of sense
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